I don't want to be somebody without your body, close to me
by WeProtectOurOwn
Summary: Their love is something not everyone understands but it doesn't matter because they will always have each other. Will Cheryl and Toni's love be enough while navigating through life? (This will be a collection of Choni canon one shots.)
1. Let Me

The Whyte Worm was packed on this wild Friday night and Serpents took up every nook and cranny of the bar. Toni rushed to scrub down another section of the bartop while mindlessly grabbing yet another shot glass off the shelf to fill it up with some sort of alcohol then moving onto the next customer.

The pink-haired serpent has been working around the clock lately, if not at the Whyte Worm tending bar then at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe serving whenever her scheduled allowed it. It wasn't a secret that most people from the Southside struggled financially but for Toni, she didn't let it stop her. Being raised by an abusive uncle after losing both her parents at such a young age, she didn't have much so she knew she had to work for whatever she wanted.

She wanted to be somebody and not another washed up Serpent that stayed in Riverdale. Granted being the Serpent Queen along side with Jughead was nothing she was ashamed of but she didn't want the gang life to be the only thing she was proud of. Being Queen was in her blood and something she knew was going to be bestowed upon her when she graduated high school. Jughead had also been handed the Serpent King crown at the same time. They had both agreed to serve side by side sharing the responsibility because still being young adults being in charge of their family and business was a lot to handle. But they were doing an outstanding job according to FP, former Serpent King, and the elder serpents like Toni's grandfather Thomas, had agreed.

They had weeded out the serpents who were drug dealing and/or any other illegal acts. Jughead and Toni had taken it upon themselves to legitimize the Serpents. That meant that they outsources their services to major business who needed protection from the Ghoulies or any outsiders, which included Lodge Industries. That deal had given the Serpent families a real source of income. The Serpent Queen also put in a deal with Andrews' Construction to set up an apprenticeship for any serpents who wanted the option of the workforce instead of college once they graduated high school. Toni quickly found out that she was quite the business woman so that's what she was planning on majoring in. For now, she was a typical 18 year old college freshmen at the local college, working 2 jobs and juggling Serpent business and her lovely girlfriend, Cheryl Blossom.

Cheryl and Toni started their romance in the beginning of their junior year. Southside High had been shut down at the end of Toni's sophomore year. The Serpents had been forced to transfer out to Riverdale High. She loathed it in the beginning because it was just another thing to add to the list of negatives that Toni could have added to her life story but that quickly changed when the red-headed HBIC Vixen strutted into her life. Flashforward a little over two years later and they're still going strong but with much more distance between them these days.

After graduating Cheryl had a full ride to quite the extensive list of ivy league universities but she chose to attend NYU to pursue a double major in fashion and business. The Blossom beauty was the heir to the fortune seeing as Jason had no interest in the family business. Toni had been accepted to most of the state colleges with her high grade point average but unfortunately she decided to stay locally because of the cost. Cheryl had supported her decision from beginning to end.

The four and half hour distance between the girls had been a rough adjustment. A break up was even considered right before the redhead had moved away but with determination and much convincing on Cheryl's part, it had been decided that they'd try unless they absolutely couldn't take being apart. While it has been difficult at times for them, the couple knew it was only temporary. After a few months into the school year, the Serpent decided she would eventually join her girl at NYU for their junior year of college. She had been saving up every penny she got and getting the perfect grades to guarantee her a scholarship and a spot there.

Luckily the redhead was traveling back to Riverdale. Cheryl being the Type A that she is, is ahead of her classes and made sure she could skip out on her Monday and Tuesday classes to have extra time with her girlfriend. It was a short week anyways because of Thanksgiving break. Not that the redhead knew it just yet but that extra time would be put to good use when Toni took her to the next town over to celebrate their two year anniversary. It was a late celebration since they couldn't be together on the actual day.

Being ripped out of her run down memory lane by her boss, "Hey Toni, you can take your dinner break. Birdy just came in." She threw her towel in the bin and grabbed her serpent jacket to get some fresh air out back where she saw Fangs and Sweet Pea hanging out.

"Sup Tiny?" Sweet Pea greeted her while Fangs just waved at her with a smile.

"Just taking my break before I go in there to work the second half of my shift. You guys wanna go to Pop's?"

The trio hopped onto their bikes and made the ride to their favorite diner. It wasn't overly busy seeing it was only a bit pass the dinner rush. They put in their typical orders to Pop and chatted amongst themselves.

"Dude, I've seen you working either here or at the bar like 24/7, what gives?" Fangs inquires.

"Besides having to pay for school, I've picked up any and all extra shifts to save up for mine and Cheryl's anniversary trip."

"Shouldn't Cheryl pay for half of your trip? She's the one whose loaded." Sweet Pea grunted out while saying thanks to Pop for dropping off their food.

"Um she doesn't know about this trip. It's a surprise." Toni said through gritted teeth. She knew how Sweet Pea originally felt about her relationship with the northside princess but he backed off when he saw how happy Toni was or so she thought.

"Maybe she should surprise you instead 'cause I know you can't be dropping that money just like that." Fangs nudged Sweet Pea hoping he'd shut up. He really just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner with his two best friends and with Toni always working Fangs hardly got to hang out with her anymore.

"What the fuck is your problem Sweets? It's also none of your business what I do with the money I work so damn hard for so back the fuck off." The pink-haired Serpent Queen was about to go off the handle so she signaled for the server to box up her food.

"My problem is that your girlfriend let's you pamper her but when was the last time she did something nice for you? That girl has more money to her name than she knows what to do with. So excuse me for looking out for you." Sweet Pea was walking a fine line and Fangs knew it and Toni was ready to knock him back a few steps soon.

"I don't need to sit here and deal with this bullshit. You're supposed to be my best friend and just be supportive not judgemental." Toni was taking money out of her wallet to pay for her meal and trying to get out of the booth because sitting there was only going to cause her trouble.

"All I'm saying Toni is that Cheryl will always be the northside princess and the heir to the Blossom fortune and you will always be the southside Serpent Queen. Do you really think you're good enough for all that?"

Sweet Pea hit Toni's biggest insecurity when it came to her and Cheryl. While she was honest about it with her girlfriend it didn't mean that those feelings magically went away. Her girl was very understanding in letting Toni paying for her own things, splitting dates with the heiress, and also letting Cheryl spoil her every once in a while. Her own best friend was throwing it in her face and it hurt her immensely.

Toni's expression hardened while standing up from the table. Fangs was terrified because he knew that Sweet Pea had overstepped and the look Toni shot their way was deadly.

"As your Queen, I suggest you back down or else." Sweet Pea wide-eyed, nodded his head knowing he was being dismissed. The Serpent didn't even bother addressing them as she stormed out of Pop's then hopped on her bike back to the bar. During her ride back, all she could think was "_Is he right? Am I good enough to be a part of that lifestyle?"_ She shook her head hoping those thoughts would leave her head and heart because it had no room in her relationship with Cheryl. God she needs for her girlfriend to be home already.

Cheryl was to arrive the next morning at Thistle house. After the twins had graduated, their parents had gifted them Thistle house while they stayed up in Thornhill. But Jason decided to give up his half of Thistle house to Cheryl because while their parents disagreed with his engagement to Polly Cooper they let him leave the Blossom estate to go live in some luxurious loft in downtown Riverdale with her. Plus Toni and Cheryl spent so much of their time at Thistle House during high school that it felt like their home. For Jason, he knew it was truly theirs and didn't want to be in the way of that.

As the clock is striking close to 2:30 a.m. Toni is rushing to clean up the remnants of the drunk customers so she could drive to Thistle house. She had no intention of going home to her trailer when she knew her girl was coming home or potentially running into Sweet Pea. Toni had let Jughead know that she wasn't going to be around Sunnyside much for the week but if he needed anything she would be a call or text away. She also let it be known that Sweet Pea was on her shit list for disrespecting her and Cheryl but was letting it be for now.

_King Jughead: Roger that Queen. Let me know if you want me to give Pea a consequence. Also have a nice weekend with your girl. _

_Queen Toni: Thanks Jug. I'll think about it. _

Cheryl had given Toni an extra key when she took ownership of Thistle house. The redhead's parents slowly grew to love Toni for their daughter and had no problem letting Toni come and go on their family estate. After giving the bar a quick sweep, counting the cashier tills and her tips, she shut the lights off and locked up the bar. As exhausted as she was, the Serpent mounted onto her bike and drove to her destination.

Pulling up to the Blossom estate, she punched the code to let herself in then hooked a left to the winding road to the house. For hardly being at Thistle house, Toni knew that her girl made sure that her house was kept up even in her absence. The Serpent unclips her helmet to remove it, grabbed her bag from the bike compartment then slowly trekked up the door. She let herself in and inhaled the scent that was purely Cheryl, that maple syrup sweetness and cherry signature. Toni went straight into their bedroom and dropped her belongings into where they should be. Not wanting to waste any time tomorrow, she forced herself to shower before changing into her girlfriend's old Vixen HBIC hoodie and boy shorts before passing out on her girlfriend's side of the bed.

Xxx

Cheryl could see the road that she is meant to turn down in her red Impala to her family estate. She was beyond excited to be home to see her brother but more so her girlfriend. The redhead has missed her terribly while she's been gone but she knew every day that passed while she was at NYU without her was a day closer to when Toni would be there with her. Pulling into her driveway she wasn't expecting to see her girlfriend's motorcycle parked in her driveway. She didn't think Toni would be up for the ride from the bar to her house so late into the night. Cheryl pushed her concern aside as she grabbed her suitcase out of her backseat to head inside. The ease of being back in her comfort zone swept over her while quietly heading up the stairs to their room.

She opened the door slowly to see that her lover was knocked out cold, what was more endearing was that Cheryl's noticed her girl sleeping on her side of the bed. Toni's hair was splayed out in all directions, her lips slightly parted, one leg peeking out from their sheets, while Cheryl's hoodie rode up clearly throughout the night that left the serpent's toned stomach and her tiny boy shorts on display. Cheryl had never seen anything more beautiful than the sight before her. She slipped her heels off and slipped right behind Toni, one arm shimmying under Toni's head while the other wrapped around a slender waist. The Serpent felt a familiar and safe embrace that she had been craving then her brain caught up with her surroundings.

"Oh thank God, you're here." Toni rasped out then flipped over and shoved her face into her safe haven, which was into the crook of her girlfriend's neck.

"Yes, I'm here. Good morning." Cheryl chuckled while running her fingers through Toni's hair. "I didn't think you'd be here right when I got home."

"I had a long shift and I didn't want to waste any time by having to come back and forth from the trailer park to here when all I wanted was you." Toni sighed out. The weight of exhaustion from school, Serpent Queen business, and all the hours she's been clocking in then adding in her tiff with Sweet Pea last night was taking its toll on her. She hadn't realized how much she was holding in with her emotions until she was back in Cheryl's arms.

"Babe...have you been overworking yourself lately?" The redhead was concerned about her love. She knew how hard she worked with everything that she's balancing in her life. Cheryl once offered to help Toni out and she outright refused and said "don't worry about me baby, I always have things handled." She knew it was a touchy subject so she just let it be. If Toni really needed her help, she'd hopefully ask for it.

"I...n-no..."

"Toni…"

"...probably."

All Cheryl could do was tighten her grip on her girl. "Well I'm happy to be home so I can take care of you." It was something meant to be said only with love but the guilt of being so far away seeped into her tone. She knew that Toni supported her decision to go away just like she had with Toni when she decided to stay but her girl wasn't the best at letting those who love her take care of her. But she also could feel that there was something else lingering within her girlfriend.

"Cher…I'm okay, just tired." Toni picked up on it but didn't comment because deep down she knew she needed her girlfriend's care.

"Either way, I'm going to pamper you while I'm here." Red painted pillowy lips pressed themselves to a pink hairline.

Toni grabbed a pale wrist in search of her watch to see what time it was. The time was around 10:30 a.m. They had nowhere to be until dinner time so she reached her hand up to cup her girl's cheek.

"Where's my kiss?" Cheryl didn't even hesitate to sweep down to press her lips against Toni's. They sighed into the feeling because it was like coming back home, literally and figuratively. Lips move in a perfect rhythm, breath being stolen from two pairs of lungs, until it became too much and they stared into each others eyes. The love radiating didn't always need to be expressed in words.

"I don't know what your plans are the whole time you're here but I have plans for us for our anniversary." Toni mentioned finally breaking their comfortable silence.

"My only plans were to see J.J. at some point and Thanksgiving dinner up at Thornhill. The rest of my time has been allotted to you and us." The redhead smiled at the thought. "And you know we don't have to do anything for our anniversary, right? Being in our home is enough for me." Cheryl didn't want Toni to spend any unnecessary amount of money on her, not when she didn't have to.

"I know but I already planned everything out so just let me." Cheryl just nodded in agreement while a smile took over her face at the thought.

They spent most of the day lounging and snacking around Thistle house. The couple was currently sitting in the family room cuddled up on the couch watching You on Netflix. It was the perfect way to be together after being apart for so long. They just needed to be in each others space being able to steal pecks, run their hands over each other, and just be held when they so desired.

After finishing their new show it was about time for Toni to set her plans into motion. Cheryl was in a daze of being comfortable and happiness that when the Serpent started to peel herself out of her arms she could only murmur words that Toni didn't understand. The pink-haired beauty chuckled and grabbed Cheryl's hands to have her sit up.

"Come on baby. We need to get ready for our date." The redhead follows Toni's lead because truly wherever the Serpent goes Cheryl will happily follow.

The last hour and half is the girls moving around each other in perfect sync but as per usual Toni finishes getting ready first. She sneaks down to the basement to grab the bouquet of flowers and the little presents she had to sneak into her purse to give throughout their evening. Heading back up to the main living space Cheryl started to descend the staircase and the air that was in Toni's lungs was ripped out of her.

Her girlfriend was wearing a red and black long sleeved dress. The red silky material of her dress had a perfect sweetheart neckline that pushed up her breasts, the bottom half was a high low cut showcasing her long smooth porcelain legs, while a black sheer floral long sleeves that also covered right over that red silk. Cheryl decided to do a half up and half down look while still keeping her hair in big waves. Her neck was on display for Toni to be enticed by her movements. She went with a dark smokey eye with her signature red lipstick but what top it off was the candy apple red stilettos.

The serpent was tongue tied while ogling her gorgeous girlfriend. The only thing she could think about was how lucky she fucking was to be loved by her and to have the chance to love her back.

"TT, you might want to pick up your jaw from the floor before you drool again." The redhead giggled.

"Cher, that was only one time but can you blame me? You look absolutely stunning. I can barely catch my breath at the sight of you." That right there made Cheryl swoon and melt her heart. All she could do was smile that beautiful smile at Toni.

"You're one to talk babe. You are so beautiful." Toni tried to cover the blush on her face by smirking.

Cheryl drew her eyes up and down her lovers body. The dress Toni wore was a black leather dress that hugged her curves in all the right places that if Cheryl wasn't careful she'd be the one drooling. The scoop neck showed enough cleavage but still hiding enough to leave the rest up for imagination. It ended right about mid-thigh which left those milk chocolate thighs exposed. Toni had her hair tied up with loose tendrils framing around her face. Her makeup was shades of pink for her eyeshadow and lip gloss which made everything pop with her hair. Her perfected manicured feet were strapped in black heels.

"To start off the night, I have a present for you." Toni left Cheryl by the staircase to go grab the gifts. The redhead could hear some scrambling and then saw her love appear with a bouquet of a mix of red flowers. They looked absolutely gorgeous. In Toni's other hand was outstretched to present Cheryl a small red glittery bag. Cheryl grabbed it with a wide grin on her face with a small shake of her head.

"TT, you did not need to get me anything but this is very sweet of you." Cheryl took her gifts in the kitchen to grab a vase for her flowers and to riffle through the bag. She unraveled the tissue paper to see an electronic picture frame. Toni grabbed it to flip on the screen and set it up in front of her girlfriend. What Cheryl saw were digitized versions of the photos Toni's taken and collected of them throughout their relationship. The redhead couldn't help it when tears sprung to her eyes. Flashes of memories went by from their first date, their first vacation together, their first dance, proms, bonfires, beach days, lazy days, etc.

"Babe...this is so thoughtful and I love it. I'm going to have to think of where I want to put this. I have something for you too but it's going to have to wait until later." With the flowers and the picture frame put in the living room for the time being. Toni held Cheryl's coat for her before putting hers on then they get into the redheads Impala. Toni took the reigns on driving them around tonight as she was the one who planned the whole extravaganza. Their hands linked the whole time as they pull up to the restaurant.

"La Bonne Nuit?" Cheryl sat stunned as her girlfriend handed the valet the car keys, while exchanging some words with her then rounded the car to open the car door.

"To answer your question yes, La Bonne Nuit. I know you've been dying to eat here and it's always booked. But I managed to pull in a favor to get us a reservation and some special arrangements." Toni explained.

While escorting the redhead into the entrance the hostess didn't even take their names, he immediately started walking them towards the back of the restaurant. There was outdoor patio that luckily had a tent-like cover and some heaters to keep it toasty in there. It was November and it was quite chilly to be having a meal outdoors. But on the roof of the space, there was fairy lights hung throughout to give it a romantic glow, with only a couple tables that were all set up with candle light, and it didn't feel like they were with the rest of the guests. The hostess sat them at a table for two and handed them menus. When their waiter came he set down two glasses of wine and their dinner orders which was cheese fondue for Toni and coq-au-vin for Cheryl.

The conversation flowed nicely between the couple as they enjoy the easy romance. That spark was very much alive for them. Cheryl stared at the beautiful woman in front of her as Toni threw her head back laughing at whatever the redhead had just said. The Blossom heir was determined to make Toni this happy for the rest of her life. Over two years together it still felt surreal to her sometimes. She didn't think she would find a love like this especially after she came out. Her parents hadn't taken it well at first and it took her brother chewing them out for them to truly see the error of their ways but it made her doubt herself. _Deviant._ _Abomination._ _Loveless._ Those were just some of the words spewed at her but then Toni came crashing into her life and made her feel _sensational_. The pink-haired Serpent Queen was her Queen and she damn well knew treat her as such forever.

"So...I may have another surprise up my sleeve." Toni's voice brought her back down to Earth.

"Oh baby, how in the world can you top this wonderful evening?"

"Tomorrow you and I are going to head to Greendale before we have to be back for Thanksgiving. I want us to celebrate us and get away from town for a little bit." The serpent blushed and gave the redhead a small smile.

"That sounds simply perfect TT. But I have to pack a bag…" She trailed off thinking of everything she would need.

"No need to worry babe, I already took care of packing for both of us. Not that we will need a lot of clothing anyways..." Toni smirked while her brain went into more NC-17 thoughts.

"W-wow you really thought of everything." Cheryl became flustered at the innuendo, while still being in awe of her girlfriend and how much thought she put into planning everything.

The waiter dropped the check at their table while refilling their wine glasses then clearing their table. He'd let them know that dessert would be coming out soon. Toni didn't even flinch when she dropped her card into the waiters booklet.

"TT, we can split dinner."

"This was my treat Cher. I brought you here as my date tonight." Cheryl dropped it and just smiled brightly at Toni.

Dessert was a slice of tiramisu that they were splitting. It was as delicious as it looked. The waiter came back to the table to whisper something in Toni's ear. Cheryl saw her face drop and whispered something back at the waiter. Once he walked away the redhead wanted to ask what was wrong then as fast as their waiter walked away he came back and just shook his head.

Toni started to panic when she realized that her card was declined. It didn't make much sense to her because she swore that she put more than enough on her card to cover dinner. She grabbed for her handbag hanging on her chair to grab her phone. Cheryl just watched her rifle through her bag and her phone but I could see the panicked state her girlfriend was starting to be in. That's when it clicked for her, Toni couldn't cover dinner. So as discreetly as she could, the redhead slipped her card to the waiter and told her to just give himself a 20% tip and not to come back to the table. The last thing she wanted was to cause a tiff with Toni about this whole thing.

The pink haired girl didn't notice but she swallowed hard when she saw on her screen that the money she deposited wouldn't be available to her back account until tomorrow. When dark brown eyes finally peaked up to meet equally brown eyes, she realized that Cheryl took care of the bill because she also had her coat on already. Tears welled up in her eyes but swallowed thickly to not let the feeling of embarrassment take over. Toni stood up to also put her coat on while reaching for her girlfriend's hand to lead them out of the restaurant.

The drive back to Thistle house was painfully quiet and Cheryl hated it.

"Thank you Cher." The serpent interrupted her inner thoughts. There hands been intertwined the whole time and the redhead had just squeezed her lover's hand.

"Oh you're welcome babe."

Neither said much after that. Cheryl didn't want to push Toni into talking if she wasn't ready to yet. But she just wanted her to know it wasn't a big deal then she thought better of it because it probably didn't feel that way for her girl. Pulling up in front of their home Toni cut the engine and slowly made it out of the car to open the door for Cheryl. Walking in the Serpent just stood in the doorway making the heiress turn to give a confused look at her.

"I think I'm gonna go for a ride. Is that okay?" Toni asked while scuffing the toe of her heel against the invisible spot on the floor.

"I can go with you if you want." She knew offering wouldn't necessarily mean that Toni would want her to but she wanted to offer her support.

"Thanks sweetheart but I'll only be gone for a little bit. I'm gonna go change out of this." Cheryl felt hurt that Toni didn't want her to go with her but she understood that she needed her space. She had an inkling there was something a little bit more than her paying for dinner that was bothering Toni. She hated that their special evening was sort of ruined.

Toni came back down the stairs in some jeans, her classic black combat boots, one of Cheryl's hoodies and her serpent jacket. She rounded the couch to give her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her keys. "I love you Cher, see you in a bit."

"I love you too TT, be careful."

"Always."

The redhead sighed at the sound of the motorcycle ripping through the driveway.

Xxx

Toni had been riding around Riverdale for about a half hour when she realized she was being stupid and should go home and talk to her girlfriend. But what Sweet Pea had said to her last night was putting this crushing weight on her chest. If tonight's bill debacle wasn't an indicator that she wasn't cut out to be a social elite with Cheryl and the rest of the Blossom's she didn't know what was.

The Serpent didn't want to go home just yet so she turned around to head towards Sunnyside trailer park. Luckily at this time of the night everyone was in the comfort of their own homes so when she pulled up to the on going bonfire with no one in sight she killed the engine of her bike and sat in one of the chairs thinking.

Cheryl was flipping through the channels mindlessly on the television for almost 45 minutes when she decided to go find Toni. Looking on Find my Friends, Toni was at Sunnyside trailer park. It was hard to tell exactly where but she would just head that way. The drive was quick for the redhead. She parked her Impala behind Toni's trailer seeing that her bike wasn't there. So she thought she'd go for a stroll around the trailer park hoping to run into her girlfriend. You would think it would be bizarre to see the heiress walking around the Southside but since she'd been dating Toni for almost 3 years at this point no one even batted an eyelash anymore but more so welcomed her.

Instead of finding Toni, she saw Jughead and Betty outside of his trailer chatting so she made her way over to them.

"Good evening Jug and Betty."

"Hey Cheryl. What are you doing without your other half?" Jughead asked.

"I was actually hoping that you guys would be able to tell me if you saw her around." Jughead nodded no but Betty nodded yes.

"I saw her sitting at the bonfire. I was going to go over and say hi but she looked really deep in thought…" Betty mentioned.

"I thought you and Toni were going to be away at your romantic getaway or whatever this week or had she not told you yet? If she hasn't yet, don't tell her I ruined her surprise." The Serpent King chuckled.

"Uh no you didn't ruin it so you can relax, the Serpent Queen won't have your head." Even Cheryl felt herself relax a little bit at that.

"I'm surprised she's here when she told me she didn't want to be anywhere near where Sweet Pea might be but more for his safety than hers."

Cheryl tilted her head at that. "Why would Toni want be away from Sweet Pea?"

"I guess she hasn't mentioned her tiff with Sweet Pea last night then?" Jughead squirmed because he wasn't sure if he should say anything or not but this was Cheryl we were talking to not just some random stranger. She loved Toni and he knew that the redhead could help put his close friend at ease.

"Not yet...enlighten me please?" The redhead would talk to her girlfriend about whatever Jughead was about to divulge to her but she was starting to get impatient.

"Toni texted me last night ya know just letting me know that she wasn't going to be around here because you were going to be in town for the week which I'm all gungho for since she's been going nonstop since the last time you were here." Cheryl nodded knowing how hard her Queen worked. "She told me that Pea was on her shit list for disrespecting you and her. I asked her if she wanted me to handle Pea and she just said she'd think about it. So I did some digging around with Fangs. He gave me a synopsis."

The redhead furrowed her brow at what Sweet Pea could have possibly started with Toni to make her this upset.

"I guess they were at Pop's in between Toni's shifts at the Worm talking about your trip or whatever when Pea shoved his foot in his mouth going on and on about how you should be paying for half your trip and how you should be surprising her with stuff cause you're loaded. The asshat didn't know it was a surprise. But kept shoving his foot in it talking about how you'll always be the heir to your family money and Toni is well just Toni. Then kinda questions if she was good enough to be with you."

The more Jughead divulged to her the angrier the redhead became because how _fucking dare_ Sweet Pea say those things to his best friend and her girlfriend. It pained her to hear how the dark haired neanderthal had played on what Cheryl knew to be one of Toni's biggest insecurities. It all started to make sense to her now.

"Then Toni pulled out her Serpent Queen card to get him to back off which we all know she doesn't do unless she's about to pop off so...yeah." Jughead felt for his close friend because he had very similar feelings when he started dating Betty. It sucked ass and he knew it.

"Where the hell is Sweet Pea?"

"He's not here. He's working the night shift at Lodge Industries tonight." As much as he wanted Cheryl to rip into him he had to protect him from her wrath for the time being.

"Lodge Industries?" The redhead questioned.

"Yeah, didn't Toni tell you the deals she cut?" Betty added while Cheryl still looked perplexed.

"Must be a change of pace for her to actually be able to talk about Serpent business without having you be accessory to a crime." Jughead jokes.

"Anyways, she cut a deal with Veronica's parents to let the Serpents provide them protective services at Lodge Industries as long as their income was done by the book." The blonde said excitedly.

"Wow, that's amazing. That means you guys are actually legitimized and everyone can have regulated money coming through. She only mentioned that you both were exiling anyone who was breaking your new Serpent law about drugs and any illegal acts." Cheryl was thoroughly impressed by her love's talents.

"Not only that but she's also cut a deal with Archie's dad to create this apprenticeship with Andrews' Construction for any of the Serpents who aren't cut out for college but would rather do trade school. Ya know giving them other options while actually learning how to do something. This place is actually starting to get fixed." Jughead lit up talking about it.

"Wow both have you been hard at work." Cheryl added.

"To be honest, it was all Toni. It's been my pleasure to be working beside her as Serpent King but she's been the one pulling out all the stops to make our lives easier. I'm just here to execute what she needs me to on Serpent grounds." The Serpent King couldn't take as much credit as the redhead was giving him.

"I have no idea how she does it." Betty shook her head in disbelief while Jughead nodded along his girl's statement. "If she's not doing Serpent Queen business, she working at Pop's and if not at Pop's then she's at the Whyte Worm and if she's not there, she's in class or studying. I don't get how she does it all."

Cheryl was also in awe of her girlfriend. She truly didn't know how Toni did all these things while still giving her so much attention. It made her love her all the more.

"She's just that good." Cheryl smirked. "But I'm gonna talk to her, thanks for letting me know." As she started walking away she stopped when a thought came to her. She turned on her heel, "Jug?"

"Yeah, Red."

"She told you she'd think about letting you handle Sweets right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Tell him that he'll be covering Toni's shifts at Pop's and at the Worm for the remainder of the week without pay."

"Um, sure. But you know that you're not a Serpent right?"

"That may be so but Toni is my Queen and Sweet Pea will learn his lesson. Just tell him. I'll take care of my girl." Jughead agreed and took his order from the redhead because it sounded like a good punishment to him. That way Sweet Pea could see a fraction of how much Toni has to balance.

Cheryl made her way through the trailer park to get to Toni. Walking up to the bonfire pit, she saw her girlfriend curled up on one of the chair.

"Can I have a seat?"

"Shit Cher, you scared me. But yeah, come here." Toni dropped her legs onto the ground while opening her arms out to her girl. The redhead carefully sat in her lover's lap then running her hand through pink locks hoping to relax Toni a bit.

"So I heard about what happened with Sweet Pea…" Cheryl wanted to jump into this conversation instead of beating around the bush.

"Oh….yeah." Toni turned her head away because she could feel the tears building up already. "Well he was just being a dick." She hated that what he said affected her so much.

"Sweetheart, it's more than that. I know he is playing on your biggest insecurity. Is that why you needed to go for the ride after dinner?"

Toni bit the bullet because there wasn't a point in trying to bullshit her very perceptive girlfriend. "I wanted to clear my head because I knew Sweets got under my skin about everything he said before our night out. Then when I couldn't pay for dinner like I planned to, it's like all those things he said were true. Like he was right about me not being good enough or that I'll always be a piece of Southside Serpent trash."

Those words made Cheryl's chest ache because Toni wasn't trash nor was she not not good enough. She was perfect in the redhead's eyes. She needed to know what that idiot had said exactly.

"I'm going to inflict so much pain on that moron. But what did he say exactly?"

"He said you'll always be the northside princess and the heiress of the Blossom fortune and I'll always be the southside Serpent Queen. Then truly asked me if I would ever be good enough for that lifestyle?" Toni tried to make it sound as nonchalant as she could but knew that her girl could see right through her facade and could detect the hurt.

"Hey baby, you have to know that Sweet Pea is completely wrong. You are more than good enough, way too good for me. I've also heard of all the amazing things you've done for the Serpents lately. I wish you would have told me yourself but Jug and Betty had nothing but high praises for you." Cheryl tilted Toni's chin so she could look into those warm brown eyes. Peering into them, she could see the hurt swimming in them. It made her want to find Sweet Pea herself to give him a verbal lashing for his indiscretions.

"I'll spend the rest of my life telling you how good you are Antoinette Isabella Topaz. I am in utter awe of you and how much you do for everyone around you and especially me. So fuck what Sweet Pea said because there is nobody else that is ever going to be better than you my love." Tears fell onto Toni's cheeks at the heartfelt words her girlfriend spoke to her. Looking into those warm brown eyes showed her how wrong Sweet Pea was because there was the love of her life telling her differently and she believed her.

Cheryl leaned down to plant her lips on the ones she's been craving since she's been away at school. They instantly get lost in the feeling of each other. Toni moans quietly when pillowy lips press even more into hers which she happily accepts. The redhead's hand come up to her neck while Toni's find themselves under Cheryl's top dragging her hands across smooth skin.

Pulling away slightly breathless, "it's getting late, why don't we head home so we can be energized for our trip." Cheryl nodded and hopped off her girl's lap to walk back towards Toni's bike. The Serpent dropped off Cheryl at her trailer so she could trail behind Cheryl to go back to Thistle house. The couple was ready to let go of this night.

Xxx

Last night's sleep was pure heaven for both women once they arrived home. They hadn't slept in the same bed together in what felt like forever but it had only been a few months. In between those months there had been very short weekend visits but it hardly counted for the couple. Toni's arms were wrapped tightly around Cheryl's slightly taller frame spooning her, their legs tangled together, and the Serpent breathed in her girl right at the place where the redhead's neck met her shoulder.

Toni was determined to make up for last night and enjoy her time with the love of her life. They were set out to leave for their trip once they both got ready this morning. Slipping out from behind Cheryl dropping a light kiss on her neck and letting her sleep a little longer, she quietly went downstairs to prepare a light breakfast they could take on the road with them. She grabbed the bag she packed for them and went to go put it in the back seat of Cheryl's car.

The Serpent strolled into the kitchen to make Cheryl's daily strawberry/banana/peach smoothie and grabbed a granola bar to go with it. She cooked and assembled herself an easy egg, cheese, and sausage burrito. Packing a small lunch box with their breakfast and a couple snacks and drinks, she deemed it good. Toni hiked back upstairs to see that Cheryl hadn't moved an inch since she'd left her. Silently going over to their dressers, she pulled out a pair of Adidas soccer pants and a crop top hoodie as her outfit for the day.

After changing, Toni carefully climbed over her girlfriend while lightly straddling her hips. While she was leaning over, the Serpent brushed some of those luscious red locks to the side to expose the elegant long neck. She brushed her lips against her girl's pulse point then started to apply pressure and suction. Toni selfishly wanted to mark her but this morning was not the time. She traveled up Cheryl's neck to peck her lips hoping to gently pull her love from her slumber. The pink haired girl wasn't expecting the reciprocation she was receiving but leaned into it. She felt nails dig into her lower back pulling her tighter to the redhead's hips. Toni couldn't help rolling her hips down and moaning at the feeling. She truly has missed her girlfriend in more ways than one but especially their intimacy.

"Well that is one hell of a way to wake up." Cheryl smirked while her eyes were still fluttering open once they pulled apart.

"Morning my beautiful Bombshell. I have made and packed our breakfast, our bag is in your car already, I'm dressed. So whenever you're ready to go, we can get outta here." Cheryl stared up at Toni and saw how much her eyes lit up and how much happier in comparison to the night before.

The redhead wanted to get their trip started so she got up to change into a pair of red jeans and a black crop top with her bomber jacket. Toni couldn't wait to get her hands on that body once they were in Greendale. Now sitting in the car, food already scarfed down, music was blasting while they enjoyed the crisp air of having the top down. Even though it was November, they were experiencing a warm front the next couple of days. The couple sang at the top of their lungs to Ariana Grande's new 7 rings single. It was the most carefree both women have been since the summer.

Cheryl looked over seeing pink and brunette locks flowing in the wind, the sun shining brightly down on them, as Toni's smile took over her face while singing her heart out. The sight before her made her heart thump hard against her chest. She was so utterly in love with Toni Topaz.

About an hour away, Toni found the road that led up to the cabin they'd be staying in. It was a cute AirBnB that provided the perfect getaway for just the two of them. Rolling up the long driveway, Cheryl sat with her mouth agape at the beauty of their surrounding. The cabin was right off a small lake and mostly surrounded by the woods. The leaves on the trees had already changed to the multiple hues of green, yellow, orange, and red. Parking the Impala right in front of the small shed behind the cabin, Cheryl grabbed their bag, while Toni went to unlock their abode for next few days.

Once inside the cabin, Cheryl and Toni stared at the homey rustic decor with a king size bed framed by the floor to ceiling windows along the back wall. A fireplace with a giant tv mounted to the wall right above it. A small kitchen with stainless steel appliances and an island to make meals and a door which leads to the bathroom.

"How about I start a fire to make this place warm and toasty?" Toni shed her serpent jacket and hung it on a stool by the island.

"I'll unpack the food and our bag while you do that." The Serpent was about to walk around her girlfriend when the heiress grabbed her and pressed her lips to plump pink ones. It was passionate and made Toni's head spin. When Cheryl pulled back she saw the dazed look in her lover's eye and she couldn't be anymore happy that they were somewhere that they didn't need to worry about how loud they got.

"Mmmm. You hold onto whatever you're thinking of and we'll continue this once that fire gets going." The pink haired girl hummed. Cheryl swatted at that tight ass watching Toni head outside.

The redhead went to work on putting their clothes away in the built in dressers in the wall next to the bed then put the food they bought before leaving Riverdale in the refrigerator and in the cupboards. Taking a look outside she watched Toni take a large swing with the axe outside to split a piece of firewood. Brown eyes narrowed in muscle of her girlfriends abs and her back as she exerted enough energy to split the wood. A pool of heat slammed into the redhead's gut at watching Toni show her strength.

Cheryl had a surprise for her girl that she had to sneak into their bag last night and she had to go change into it. Stepping back out into the main part of the room the redhead went into the kitchen to pour herself and her girl a hefty glass of wine to enjoy by the fireplace. Cheryl watched Toni bring in firewood and drop it into the fireplace to get it going. The Serpent stripped herself of her crop top hoodie leaving her in a Calvin Klein sport bra. The white garment barely held the pink haired girls voluminous chest in place as she moved the wood around. The redhead's eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets as she kept staring at Toni's body move from her abs, to her chest, to her back, to her arms, and down her legs. Toni could feel the heat coming from her girlfriend's stare. Taking her hoodie off wasn't just to cool herself down. It was also a sure fire way to get Cher riled up. The Serpent lit the gas for the fire to bring it to life.

"Are you going to come join me?" The redhead breathed out from where she was seated on the couch and took a long sip of her wine.

"Of course Bombshell. I can't let you enjoy all that wine without me." Toni didn't bother sitting next to Cheryl but took it upon herself to straddle her girlfriend lap. She reached for her own glass and took a big gulp herself. The alcohol flowing freely in her veins she grabbed pale cheeks to pull her girlfriend into a deep and full of passion kiss. Cheryl slid her arm around Toni's waist pulling her closer.

"When did you change into this?" Toni eyed her girl up in down. Cheryl was dressed in one of Toni's flannel shirts that was button up just high enough to leave some cleavage, with a pair of shorts that barely covered anything. The Serpent ran her hands over the material from the redhead's stomach up over her breasts to give them a squeeze.

"Mmm. While you were splitting the wood. I wanted to get comfortable while I got the chance to check you out."

"Did me swinging an axe do it for you baby?"

"Anything you do does it for me TT."

Toni couldn't take it anymore. She shuffled off of her girl's lap so she could be on her feet. Once she was upright, Toni bent over, slid her arms under Cheryl's thighs.

"Put your arms around my neck" The pink haired girl instructed.

Without so much as asking why, the redhead did as she was told waiting to see what her girl was about to do. Toni lifted Cheryl into her arms forcing the heiress to wrap her legs around a slim waist. The show of strength just turned Cheryl on even more. It wasn't the first time they'd been in this position but god it never failed to make the redhead flustered.

Toni walked around the couch while kissing and nipping at the perfect globes in front of her face. Lightly placing her on top of the king size bed, she stared down at the angel that was her girlfriend. A red halo of hair stood out against the light grey sheets, while the smooth porcelain skin exposed was starting to turn to a slight pink color from the heat Cheryl was feeling in her veins.

The pink haired goddess didn't waste time to crawl up the bed with Cheryl following her lead to scooch back far enough so she could lay against the pile of pillows. Toni slowly started to unbutton her flannel of her girlfriend's body. The heiress bit her lip waiting for the Serpent to find her surprise underneath. As more skin was revealed Toni was starting to salivate at what she was unveiling. The Serpent had never seen this set of lingerie before. She always loved Cheryl in red but the bra was this beautiful lace making her breasts look fuller. Toni glided up from her stomach up to each globe and clenched her hands roughly.

Cheryl moaned at the pressure and knew that it was just the beginning. Toni sat back on her knees to peel away the very short shorts that barely covered anything. Her hands dragged up muscular legs until she could throw those shorts over the side of the bed. Her lips left open mouthed kissed from the inside of her ankle all the way to the redhead's inner thigh just to start over again up the opposite leg. The red lace underwear covered enough of the Vixen's mound while it hugged that tight ass.

"Is this a new set baby?" The pink haired beauty breathily asked.

"Yes, this was an anniversary present to you. Just to show some appreciation for all that you do for me." Cheryl's breath was ragged.

"You look like a masterpiece. Your beauty truly leaves me speechless."

Cheryl pulled Toni down to her by the nape of her neck to press her lips against the ones she constantly craves. The sweet taste of that cotton candy gloss from Toni's lips was always tempting to her. The redhead loved the look her girlfriend was sporting today. The white Calvin Klein sports bra contrasted Toni's light brown skin exquisitely while those soccer pants that hugged her ass and legs perfectly.

"I need your pants to go also." The Vixen demanded her love to lose the layers that kept them from being skin to skin. Toni stood at the end of the bed and stripped what little clothing she had on and slid back in between Cheryl's legs.

"As much as I love this lingerie set, it's going to have to come off." Toni kissed her way up the redheads torso and back to her neck making her whimper. Reaching underneath Cheryl, she unclasped the brazeere then pulled the straps at those slim shoulder down slowly. The Serpent wasn't in any rush. She wanted to take her time and make love to Cheryl.

Cheryl felt those luscious lips follow all of Toni's movements, wherever her hands touched her lips also planted open mouth kisses along the way. The warmth of the cabin made pink nipples strain hard once the bra was removed. The Serpent swirled her tongue around one nipple while her other hand massaged the other breast. The redhead couldn't help but whimper at the sensation and push her chest further into Toni's hot mouth. Two hands gripped pink hair keeping her in place. Cheryl felt Toni leave kisses and nips with her teeth down her stomach.

Toni caught the lace panties between her teeth to pull them down. Glancing up she saw Cheryl's eyes darken from brown to black at the move. She hooked her fingers at the sides to help aide her to remove the garment. The smooth porcelain skin that was exposed to her never seized to make the Serpent's heart swoop in her chest. The pink haired goddess dragged the front of her body over Cheryl's knowing what that does to her girlfriend. Once she laid right over that glorious body there wasn't a part of them that wasn't touching. Toni couldn't help but roll her hips into the set of hips trapped beneath her.

"Fuck…" Cheryl moaned out. "Babe you're so wet already. Is that all for me?" She felt her girl's arousal right on her mound from Toni grinding down.

The heiress felt the Serpent nod against her neck as she felt teeth sink into the side of her neck which she knew was going to leave quite the mark to find the next day. Dirty talk was always something the girls loved during their heated tryst. Cheryl gave Toni more of her neck to do what she pleases. Long muscular legs wrapped around a slim tan waist in hope of gaining some friction. Cheryl's clit was straining out from under its hood and needed some relief.

Toni's hands were everywhere but she knew where her hands were needed. Lifting herself up to give some space so her hands could follow the curve of Cheryl's body to reach down between slick thighs. The redhead was dripping wet and it made Toni salivate. Slender fingers lightly slid down Cheryl's slit gathering some of her wetness to bring it up to her mouth to have a taste.

"Oh my god, you taste phenomenal." Toni played with the wetness there and started to play with the hard nub knowing to give her love some relief.

"I need you Toni. Please." Cheryl wasn't above begging at this point. Toni was teasing her in all the best ways but she was ready for more.

"Your wish is my command my love." The Serpent wasted no time dipping one finger into her girl's tight entrance then pulling out to shove in a second finger. Cheryl moaned loudly at the penetration. Toni sat back on her heels watching the redhead lost in her pleasure while also seeing her fingers go in and out at hard and slow pace into her girls delicate pussy. The sight made the pink hair girl drip onto the sheets. Toni leaned over and kissed Cheryl squarely on the mouth as her hand never slowed her pace down. Shifting slightly lower she wrapped her lips around a rigid nipple to suck and sink her teeth into to give the Vixen some pleasurable pain.

"Holy God, I love when you're rough baby girl." The heiress loved losing control from pleasure and pain.

The pink haired girl slipped a third finger into Cheryl's tight entrance stretching her even more but in the best way possible. She added in her hips driving her fingers in harder and deeper hitting a spot the redhead hasn't felt before. Red nails clutched onto a tan back as those thrust were driving her into the bed. Cheryl was in heaven and her body was exerting just as much energy to meet Toni thrust for thrust. Their bodies were covered in sweat from the heat of the fire and desire while they slid against each other.

"You're so tight around my fingers Cher. You feel fucking fantastic. I wanna hear you baby. I know you're holding back." Toni wanted to bring more of Cheryl's wild side out because they were in the middle of nowhere without having to worry about having people around.

At those words Cheryl flipped them around so she was on top of Toni without dislodging the fingers that were buried inside of her. _Oh fuck._ The change of the angle and position hit even deeper than she was expecting. The Serpent could barely blink before she was on her back but the view from down below was fucking magnificent. Without warning her girlfriend started to rolling her hips forward. One hand in red flames to push it back from her sweaty forehead while the other one grabbed Toni's free hand and place it on her breast. The pink haired Serpent recognized the hint so she roughly grabbed at the globe then pulling at a rigid nipple.

Cheryl being the attentive lover she was, she didn't want her girl to miss out on her own pleasure so reaching back between Toni's legs she found her arousal dripping. Slim fingers sought out Toni's clit knowing that she could get her off with her this way for right now. The groan the ripped out of the pink haired girl was so guttural.

"Keep riding me Cher. Are you close?"

"I'm so close baby. You're hitting all the right spots."

The bed was starting to squeak, all the could be heard was moaning, grunts of physical exertion, skin slapping, and heavy breathing. Toni reach around Cheryl's back to grab her long mane and yanked her head back. She also bent her knees to give her lover a source of stability.

"YES! Harder, p-lease. T-toni!" The redhead was begging at this point. Pulling her hand from between Toni's legs Cheryl put her hands on Toni's knees to give her more leverage and momentum to push her pelvis harder onto the Serpent's fingers.

Incorporating her hips to drive her fingers harder up into her girlfriend. Toni was starting to get tired and her abs were burning but seeing brown eyes practically roll to the back of their sockets and breasts bounced as she rode her and the pain from the Vixen digging her nails on her knees. The sheen of sweat was giving Cheryl this beautiful glow as her body moved even harder to chase her impending orgasm.

Cheryl couldn't even control herself anymore. The shock of pleasure from her center traveled up throughout her whole body and she was lost in her girl's touch. Needing to lean forward the redhead putting her hands out onto the windows she pushed herself roughly onto Toni's.

"Fuck! Toni! I'm gonna come. I'm gonna come. Please baby, let me come." Toni dragged her other hand down the front of her girlfriend's body down between her legs to swipe her thumb against the rigid nub knowing that would throw her over the edge.

"Give it to me Cher. Come for me babygirl." A scream ripped through Cheryl's throat while moans flowed when her orgasm shot white lightening through her entire body swallowing her whole. Her back arched as her body shook and hips still rolled to draw out her orgasm. Toni's thumb on her clit didn't stop as those fingers didn't stop either which drove her into a second intense orgasm that Cheryl wasn't prepared for.

"Fuck fuck _fuck_, baby I can't take anymore. Please." Grasping the wrist between her legs signaling the heiress' tapping out. Cheryl's hand left prints on the windows as she dragged herself down on top of Toni because her body couldn't hold itself up anymore. She was thoroughly fucked and she needed a minute to catch her breath.

"I'm gonna pull out, okay love?" As gentle as she could the Serpent slipped her fingers out of her girl and she brought her hand up to mouth to lick the copious amount of cum that was on her fingers and palm. Cheryl slowly rolled off of her hoping to cool their bodies down. Toni reached for the thin sheet that they kicked off the bed during their rendezvous and pulled it over their bodies.

After getting some energy back into her body Cheryl looked over at her girlfriend seeing that her eyes were closed but looking at her chest, her breaths weren't that slow or deep for her to be asleep just yet. Knowing that Toni hadn't gotten off was an issue for her because she would never leave her lover hanging.

Without saying anything the redhead slid her body closer to Toni. She let her hand wander sensually from her collarbones over both breasts giving strained nipples some attention while scratching down the Serpent's taut abdomen then down to both toned thighs feeling them twitch under her touch. _Mmmm._ The hum of approval gave Cheryl enough to press her full lips the same way her hands had down that delicious tan body.

"What are you doing babe?" Toni asked while clutching the sheets beneath her as she felt those lips touch her most sensitive areas. She was riding the high of giving her girlfriend so much bliss.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm not gonna leave you hanging my love."

"It's okay, we're both tired now." While she felt her heart swell at the words, she has no interest in taking the out her girlfriend was giving her.

"Absolutely not. Will you lay back and let me take care of my baby?"

No words were needed after that. Cheryl set herself between those toned thighs seeing the arousal dripping. Her tongued peaked out to have a taste and when we tasted that sweet, slightly bitter, and something just simply Toni on her buds, she went to work cleaning her up. Toni moved the sheet from their bodies because she wanted to see Cheryl between her legs. The sight turned her on beyond words and the heiress always gave quite the show.

Dark eyes stared right into her soul as a talented tongue swiped between her folds. That sent her reeling and threw her head back while letting go of moan deep within her chest. The sound was music to Cheryl's ears and boasted her ego. The taste of her girlfriend made her hunger for her skyrocket. Taking the thighs and throwing them over slim shoulder so she could hook her arm around Toni's legs to have a solid grip on her hips so she could really set herself to work.

The pink haired goddess was in absolute heaven feeling her girl's tongue swipe over her clit, sucking on her lips, and dipping her tongue into her entrance. It was driving her mad but she needed more to go over the edge soon or else she was going to go insane. Cheryl rolled herself to her left side so she could bring her hand up to push a finger into Toni's opening. At first shallowly thrusting one then slipping in a second finger but wanting to give a little more she slowly put in a third. Letting Toni adjust until she felt those hips start moving on their own accord.

The Serpent felt herself being filled perfect with an amazing stretch and having a delicious suction on her clit was going to make her come so soon.

"I'm already so close Cher. _Fuck._ What are you doing to me?"

"Mmm." Not really offering an answer but to acknowledge she'd heard her girl. "Do you trust me?"

"With everything in my heart." The words made her chest burst with love at the admission.

She set her mouth and fingers to work knowing that Toni's arousal was running down past her fingers and down between her cheeks so that meant her button was more than enough lubed up. She slipped her thumb slightly lower as her fingers were still pumping in and out. Her thumb circled the button while her ears perked at the delicious sounds coming from up above.

The Serpent felt a finger play with her button and that was a new feeling for her but one that wasn't welcomed. She trusted Cheryl with everything which included her body. Carding her fingers through those infamous red locks in one hand while shimmying her other hand under one cheek to open herself up more to her girlfriend. The move alone had the Vixen hum right onto Toni's clit making her walls clench hard around the fingers inside her.

The redhead knew how to read her and what she wanted, more than she knew herself. She was on the edge and the pink hair Serpent wanted to come _so badly_. From seeing her girlfriend come so hard while riding her, hearing her scream for her, and the currently pleasure between her legs now had her sweating and wanted to reach her orgasm desperately.

"Put it in me baby. I trust you." Toni gave her the go ahead even though Cheryl hadn't even asked yet.

Cheryl pushed her thumb slowly into her tight hole and the sensation added onto everything the Serpent was feeling. The redhead pulsed her thumb in her girl's anus but not quite thrusting while her other three fingers were going into overdrive into her pussy and flicked her tongue upwards to send Toni into her orgasm.

"Yes baby yes. Cheryl! I'm coming so hard for you! Oh my God! Fuck!" That tan back arched off the bed, Toni's convulsed violently as a second orgasm ripped through her body as the redhead was just trying to get her through her first one. An even short and intense third orgasm zapped through her limbs because of the triple points of pleasure she was receiving simultaneously.

Feeling a hand pull her hair lightly to have to her pull back the redhead took it as a sign to stop or else it was going to turn into pain instead of pleasure. She slowly slipped her fingers out of her girlfriend trying not to induce any sensation that'll be uncomfortable. She tasted Toni's cum on her fingers and hummed at the taste. Cheryl set her love's legs back down on the bed and kissed her way up and stopping at those full lips while pulling the sheet back over them.

"Well that was unexpected but so _so_ amazing." Cheryl laid her head on Toni's chest what was still rising and falling quickly but wrapped her body around the tan goddess she loved so much.

"I'm glad it was good for you baby." A yawn followed that. Both women were thoroughly _fucked_ and sated for the time being but utterly exhausted. Feeling themselves starting to faded into sleep Toni pulled her lover closer to her dropping a kiss on a pale forehead.

"G'night honey. I love you."

"I love you too TT."

Xxx

The next morning the sun shined through the giant windows on the couple. Even though they had no responsibilities Cheryl still naturally woke up first from the rays. But she was happy they did because the sight of the sun hitting the love her life's body at this time in the morning was divine. It made that bronze skin glow even more and rose gold locks shimmer while the sheet stretched across only the pink girl's hips.

As quietly as possible she slipped out of bed and grabbed Toni's flannel to throw on and nothing else. She wanted to make her girl breakfast this morning as a way to help rejuvenate both of their bodies. Once she was done, she put it on a tray she found in the cupboards and placed it on the bedside table on her girl's side. While letting herself stare at the love of her life she knew that this was the moment.

She ran her fingers through rose gold locks knowing they were more tousled than usually form the sexepade from the night before. Cheryl grazed her finger from Toni's brow, down her nose, and over her lips. She truly was the most beautiful girl in the world, in Cheryl's world. Pulling away and going over to her extra pair of shoes she grabbed something from within the sole, then brought it back over with her. The movement of the redhead climbing back into bed woke Toni up. The Serpent stretched her body out feeling her muscles stretch and joints pop. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked over to see the redhead shedding the flannel from her body.

"Morning baby." Toni's hoarse from last night and lack of use.

Cheryl leaned over to drop a kiss on her lips. "Good morning sweetheart." How'd you sleep?"

"Like a rock" Chuckling at the comparison. Looking over she saw the tray of food and swiveled her head back over to her girlfriend. "Did you make me breakfast?" Looking at the spread it was a bowl of sliced fruit, cheesy scrambled eggs, turkey sausage links, and two cups of coffee.

"Yes, I figured you'd need food to re-energize and so do I." Toni sat up while Cheryl climbed into her lap to put the tray between them. They took turns feeding each from the tray until they were both finished and putting the tray back on the bedside table. The redhead moved back to lay next to Toni and heard a whine.

"Why'd you move? I liked you exactly where you were." She wailed while sliding back down under the comforter.

"I have one more gift for you."

"Baby, what?"

The redhead ignored the question while reaching into the bedside table on her side to pull out what she had just stashed in there this morning. Cheryl flipped back around while still hiding the gift under her pillow. Laying face to face with Toni while reaching for her hands to help ground her while she spoke from her heart.

"For over two years I've had the absolute joy of loving you and even more grateful to be loved by you Toni. I was less than thrilled to have the southsiders be at Riverdale High back then but who knew it would bring me the love of my life? You broke through my walls, called me out for my indiscretions, challenged me, made me laugh at your stupid jokes, woo'd me before I even realized my feelings for you, and showed me what true unconditional love is supposed to be like. I know I've become the best and most genuine version of myself since you've came into my life. But a little over two years ago now, I was lucky enough to say yes when you asked me to be yours."

Toni had tears streaming down her cheeks as she listened to Cheryl talk. Her heart swelled at the confession because she felt the love radiating from the redhead right down to her soul.

"Cher…"

"Please let me finish." The Serpent Queen nodded. "I know the last couple of months haven't been easy with us being apart most of the time, school, studying, your Serpent Queen duties, and your jobs. But I want you to know that while it's hard now, it's going to be worth it when you and I are living our dream house with our family. I'm so in love you Toni. Your heart is something I'm going to spend my whole life protecting. I will never intentionally hurt you and if I accidently do I swear to God I'll fix it."

Cheryl reached under her pillow and propped herself up on her elbow to show Toni the black little velvet box that was sitting in her palm while the pink hair girl gasped. "It's not what you think. I'm not proposing...just yet." She flipped the lid open to show her girlfriend the rose gold Cartier thin band that had a red cherry blossom engraved in the band. "This is more of a promise. We aren't at a point in our lives just yet to be engaged but I knew after our first kiss that you were it for me Antoinette Isabella Topaz. So I want to give you this ring as a promise to always fight for you, listen to you, compromise with you, never leave even when we want to kill each other, always put in the effort for us, and to simply wholeheartedly love you. Will you promise to share forever with me until I can properly ask you to be my wife?"

Toni knew she probably looked like a mess at this point but looking down at the ring and at the woman in front of her she knew there was only one answer.

"Yes. Yes. A _thousand_ times yes." With shaky hands, Cheryl pulled out the band and slipped it on Toni's left ring finger in hopes that in the future she can actually put a diamond on said finger in the future.

"I love you Cheryl Blossom. There is no one else I would want to share this life with than with you. You are _my dream woman_. My heart is yours, ring or no ring. But just know that I promise all those same things to you for as long as you'll have me."

"It's a good thing we have forever then babe." Cheryl grabbed for tan cheeks to pull her into a deep and sensual kiss to seal the deal. Their love, admiration, and dedication to each other was something not everyone understood but it didn't matter. The Southside Serpent Queen was going to marry the Blossom heiress when the time was right for them and making Cheryl her future wife and queen for life was a promise she was going to fulfill.


	2. Heather's Back In Town

_Heather._

Cheryl must have sworn she was hallucinating as she was strolling by the main office of Riverdale High. She was heading to the student lounge to meet her girlfriend and their friends when the sight of _her_ sent her emotions reeling. The last time they had seen each other was the first half of their freshman year when Heather broke things off with her abruptly.

**Flashback**

_Cheryl strutt out to the courtyard to meet Heather because she got a text that asked her to come to their spot during their study hall period. The redhead was thoroughly confused but excitement shot through her system at the chance to see her girlfriend. They'd been dating for about five months now and it was the most glorious five months of her 15 year old life. It had been terrifying to come out. Her parents hadn't taken it well at first but JJ had been her savour and her parents guiding light to accepting her sexuality. Heather also supported her during the aftermath even if it was as simple as holding her while she sobbed. _

_She couldn't stomach hiding her true self any longer so at the end of 8th grade she built enough courage to tell Jason first then her parents. Heather had been her first love who made her discover who she truly was. Cheryl could pinpoint a good looking guy but she absolutely had no attraction towards them. When the blonde had first simply held her hand, the butterflies immediately erupted in her stomach. Those butterflies were uncomparable to when they first kissed in the privacy of Cheryl's bedroom during one of their annual Saturday night sleepovers and there were fireworks going off behind her eyelids._

_The pair had been friends all through junior high and it wasn't until the spring semester of 8th grade when their friendship went beyond that. It had been a hard transition because they didn't know how to navigate through their feelings. There weren't very many queer folks in Riverdale so they originally thought their thoughts and feelings for each other were deviant. But they had both confided in their English teacher and surprisingly enough, she was gay. Ms. Cristoff gave them a peace of mind and validated them. After that day, they had explored beyond friendship and slowly but surely they accepted their sexualities together. _

_Stopping in the doorway of the courtyard, the young teen eyed her girlfriend sitting at a picnic table. Her long straight blonde hair was cascading down her back, the shine of her blue eyes were hidden behind a pair of Rayban sunglasses, while she was decked out in her Riverdale cheer squad uniform, same as Cheryl. She looked absolutely stunning in the redhead's eyes. _

"_Hey pretty girl." Cheryl greeted Heather while dropping a kiss on a freckled cheek. _

"_Uhh hi." Heather wasn't even looking at the redhead. _

_Taking a closer look at the cheerleader her nose was slightly pink which she knew was a result from crying. She furrowed her brow wondering if she had done something to upset her girlfriend or if someone else had._

"_What's wrong?" _

_Heather didn't know how to break the news to Cheryl that she was leaving. While they were pretty open about their relationship it still wasn't public knowledge to everyone. The blonde was out to most people with the exception of her own parents. She had told Cheryl she wasn't ready for that yet but didn't mind being open about it at school and their friends. But unfortunately that changed overnight after her aunt had outed her to her mother. _

"_My cousin found out about me being gay and outed me to my mom." Heather could barely get the words out._

"_What? How?" The redhead knew that was a huge blow to her girlfriend. She supported her when Heather said she needed time to gather up the courage to tell her parents. It wasn't easy to change the game up on them when they thought of you one way for most of your life. _

"_I finally added my cousin on Facebook ya know. I was done being petty and I didn't think anything of it. Apparently she found a picture of me kissing your cheek in one of my photos. I remember it was just a birthday post from last year before we were even dating." _

_Cheryl knew exactly what photo she was talking about. It was hanging up in her locker as they spoke and one of her all time favorites. _

"_When I got home from cheer practice last night my mom and dad were sitting at the kitchen table. My mom was crying and dad just looked so disappointed. They told me how they found out and went on about how this type of behavior isn't acceptable." The redhead could relate to that because her parents had called her the ultimate sinner and an abomination at first. _

"_I bawled and told them I didn't need fixing and that I'm perfectly happy with who I am. But they aren't. So I'm moving…"_

"_What?!… No…They can't..." The redhead spluttered._

"_They don't want me in contact with you anymore... They haven't thought about my phone yet but it's only a matter of time. My last day is Friday. I don't know where we're going…"_

"_They can't just do that! I don't want to lose you!" Cheryl was in tears at this point. She got up from her spot and hugged Heather. She held onto her for god who knows how long. They weren't supposed to end like this. They were supposed to be the next power couple of this awful place. They were supposed to experience all of high school together and leave this godforsaken town at 18 and go off to college. All of those things felt so far away now because the one person she loved more than anything was being taken from her and there was nothing she could do about it. _

"_I don't want to lose you either Cher but I don't know what else to do. I won't know how to contact you. I think it would be best if we end things..."_

"_So you asked me here to break up with me?!" The redhead's nerves were shot. She could feel her heart being grabbed and torn out of her chest. _

"_I want you to be happy. You are amazing Cheryl. You're going to find love again and I hope more than anything that it could be with me but I can't promise you anything once I leave on Friday." Heather's tears were streaming down her freckled cheeks. She hated this just as much as Cheryl if not more. The blonde didn't want to go but she had no choice. So she did the only thing she thought and that was to break her and Cheryl's heart so they could hopefully recover from this and still be happy in the future but Heather's future looked dim._

Xxx

Cheryl hadn't moved an inch from her spot in front of the giant office window. She could barely register the other students rushing around her to get to where they needed to be. Her eyes were zoned in on the blonde beauty that still took her breath away. That could just be a result from the shock of this situation.

Heather turned around and noticed those dark brown eyes she's missed so much with the signature Blossom crimson locks she used to run her hands through. The blonde had no clue how she planned on approaching Cheryl and she thought she had some time to figure out a plan. Being back in the Riverdale brought on so much ambivalence. _It's now or never_.

Stepping out into the hallway Heather beelined right to where the redhead was standing but Cheryl had yet to even bat an eyelash at the blonde.

"Hey Cher. You look as beautiful as ever." The blonde wasn't blind and ever since they were young, she knew that the redhead would only become more and more beautiful as they age.

"Don't Heather. What the hell are doing here?" The cold hard response threw Heather for a loop.

"I owe you an explanation for everything. Would you be willing to meet up sometime so we can talk?" Heather rubbed at the back of her neck, as a nervous habit, and hoped that the Blossom would say yes but she wasn't expecting she'd get that lucky.

"I'll have to get back to you on that. I'm assuming I'll see you around?" Cheryl thoughts were running a million miles a minute at this point.

"Yes, today's my first day back."

"Okay. See you around then." Cheryl didn't wait for a response and immediately took her phone out to send a text to her girlfriend to meet her at their spot leaving the blonde from her past feeling confused.

Xxx

Toni received Cheryl's message to meet her at the Vixen's outdoor practice field which was on the far end of the football field. The field was surrounded by another grown out field with flowers and tall grass. It's also a gorgeous place to watch the sunrise in the mornings. The Serpent sat on their bleachers waiting for that flash of red hair she adored so much.

Cheryl walked quickly spotting the Serpent insignia on Toni's leather covered back. As she climbed the bleachers she plopped herself in her girlfriend's lap and grabbing her face to lay a big ole' kiss on those full lips.

Toni hummed at the sensation while gripping the redheaded beauty's waist, "hey baby, what was that for?"

"I missed you, that's all." Cheryl ducked her head down because she really didn't want to get into the topic of conversation that she had to bring up.

"So...why did you ask me to meet you out here? Not that I mind missing Calculus right now." While the Serpent pressed her lips onto a long pale neck.

"Shit, I'm sorry babe you should be in class." Toni shook her head while leaning back to get a better look at her girl. "It's alright, you know I can catch up easily and you're more important at the moment anyways". The body on her lap was stiff as a board as strong hands rubbed Cheryl's back trying to relax her. Cheryl wrapped her arms around Toni's shoulders as she leaned back a bit to look into warm soft brown eyes.

"I-uh… ran into someone today."

"Oh? Who?" Toni was trying to wrack her brain on who could have shaken her lover so much.

"Uhm Heather." Cheryl could barely utter the other girl's name because it brought so many unwelcomed emotions.

"Wait...like your ex-girlfriend from freshmen year who moved, Heather?" The shock was pretty evident in the pink haired girls voice at the mention of her girlfriend's ex. She definitely knew the story between the girls and their whirlwind romance before Heather's family had up and moved because they couldn't accept the girl's sexuality and ultimately forced to cut the Blossom heir out of her life. It truly was a tragic love story.

"Yeah, the one and only. Apparently today is her first day back and she asked to meet up sometime because she wants to explain everything to me. I told her I'd get back to her. I kinda wanted to know what you thought." The HBIC hated being vulnerable unless it was with Toni and asking for any kind of help because she knew Toni always thought of her in her best interest.

"Do you want to?" Toni carefully asked.

"I do but at the same time I'm very hesitant to find out what she might have to say."

"It's ultimately your decision but I think you have a lot of unanswered questions and she's there willing to give you those answers. But you know that I'm here for whatever you need baby." Cheryl let herself be held while she stewed in Toni's answer because her girlfriend was right, as always. The redhead really needed to finish off that chapter and let it be.

"Okay, I'm going to meet up with her and have a chat. Will you wait for me at Thistle House for when I get back?"

"Just tell me when my love. I'll be there."

Xxx

It was the next morning when Cheryl was standing in between the pink haired Serpent's legs as she leaned against she motorcycle and her girlfriend's arms were around her waist. They were chit chatting with Sweet Pea, Fangs, Veronica, and Kevin before school started. The redhead was on the lookout for a certain blonde so she could deliver her decision. Toni could feel the impatience coming off her girl because she knew what was keeping her preoccupied.

Cheryl spotted Heather from across the parking lot attempting to weave herself through the crowds to get to the main entrance. She left the comfort of her love to take care of some business so she could fucking relax. Toni squeezed her hand as the Blossom beauty moved to walk away signaling that she'd meet her at her locker.

Before reaching the main door Cheryl called out to Heather to catch her attention. The blonde had whipped around at the sound of her name coming from the Blossom herself. She didn't think it'd be that easy to convince her to meet up but she hopes that's what this encounter will show.

"I've thought about your offer. We can meet up in the courtyard after I'm done running Vixen's practice. Okay?"

"Uh yeah, that sounds great. I'll see you then." Heather could barely register what was happening again when the Vixen strutted away and the clicking of heels were echoing down the hallway.

Xxx

Cheryl was uptight as ever and even more so knowing what she was doing after practice. She went a bit overboard on her girls and made them do triple the amount of laps in the gym and about a million run throughs of their routines but also gave them the next day off after Betty looked like she was going to faint and puke her guts out. They were perfect already but she expected nothing less than to always be perfect.

After taking her time in the locker room showers hoping it would calm her down, she stripped out of her HBIC uniform and back into her red leather skirt, black crop top turtleneck, and black stilettos. Gathering the rest of her belongings she made her way to the courtyard which was on the complete other side of the school. As she reached the doors the redhead was thrown back to a similar situation a couple years ago when Heather had broken her heart. Shaking her head of those thoughts, Cheryl stepped through the threshold and saw Heather sitting at the same picnic table from freshman year.

"You just had to pick this table, huh?" The redheaded beauty broke the ice as she dropped her things down and sat across from the blonde.

A dark chuckle escaped thin lips as she looked up at Cheryl. "I didn't mean to, I kinda just sat down without realizing it."

"This feels oddly familiar." Cheryl didn't want to think about how pretty the girl sitting across from her still was. Her blond hair was quite longer than she remembered but still as shiny and wavy as before. Her hazel eyes were bright but now had these small crinkles in the corners. Her skin was just as radiant and smooth. Her style evolved also but still the same girl who loved to wear bright colors.

Letting the comment slide, "thanks for taking the time to meet up with me."

"Well you wanted to talk and I want to know what you've got to say while I have questions of my own."

"I guess I can start from the beginning… My dad passed away a year ago." Cheryl's jaw dropped at that news. "It's okay truly. He got sick and we didn't have the best relationship. But my mom and I's got increasingly better after he was gone. She told me how it wasn't her decision to up and leave but more so my dad's and she wasn't strong enough to stand up to him back then. But now, she wanted to move back and be close to her family. I was nervous about coming back here because for two years I got to live the life I wanted back there. I didn't know if I could do the same here."

"Where did you end up moving anyways?" All Cheryl knew was that she ended up out west.

"Out to Utah in Salt Lake City. My dad got some major gig to be the head IT guy for a huge corporation."

"So after you were settled, why didn't you reach out to me? You moved and it's like you vanished from my life completely. I thought I'd at least be able to keep tabs on you." The HBIC felt like her nerves were on fire as she let the emotions she's repressed over Heather were finally out.

"Half of it is purely selfish and the other half is my dad's doing. He didn't control my social media per se but he would scan it whenever he felt like it. He was a tech savvy man and used it to his advantage. I also pictured you having this amazing life and I just couldn't bare to see any of it because I wished more than anything that it could have been with me." Heather was staring holes into the wood of the table top as she revealed that comment.

"I guess that explains why you were so quick to deny my friend requests on all forms of social media. I'm sorry you were confined to those awful conditions because of your father but you could have sent me snail mail. I would have done anything to just hear that you were alright. But after awhile I got the hint and decided to let you go and stopped bothering looking you up." The redhead had spent so many months scouring the internet for traces of the girl she once loved. It killed her 15 year old self to see photos and post float by and she couldn't even show that she was still there even virtually.

"I figured it would have hurt even more if we kept in contact in any way. But sitting here with you in front of me, I feel like an idiot thinking that." Tears sprung to blue eyes but didn't fall.

"You may have broken up with me before you left but honestly I felt like you left me hanging. I never knew what truly happened to you. But when I did try to look you up I'd see those posts of you in those beautiful parks or skiing down those gigantic mountains. You were living this awesome life and you couldn't even reach out to me once."

The blonde winced at the pain behind those words because it pained her to be the cause of it. "I'm sorry Cheryl. I wanted to reach out right away but then I kept telling myself it'd be easier to get over you if I didn't. Then when I finally was going to crack, I thought about how much time I let go by and it wouldn't have been fair to you. I wish I would have because maybe things would be different for us right now." Heather took a chance and placed her hand on top of the pale hand on the table top. Cheryl stared at the hand on hers and thinking how she used to love this.

"I understand, now that I know everything."

"So now what?"

"I don't know. I'm still baffled that you're back here."

"Do you think we could ever be friends again?" Heather slipped her fingers through Cheryl hoping to show her that she desired something more than friendship now that she was back in town. The redhead recognized the intimate touch and it sent her reeling.

"Look Heather you've been gone long enough for me to get over you. I didn't wait around and pine for you. I have a girlfriend, her name's Toni and she's everything to me. If you can't respect that, then we have no shot at being friends again." The HBIC had no interest in jeopardizing her relationship for the girl from her past.

"Oh…" The blonde hadn't considered that maybe Cheryl was with someone but she was Cheryl Blossom and she could have anyone she wanted. "I miss your friendship. I can respect your relationship." Heather would grasp at anything the redhead was offering at this point.

"Okay, we'll give it a shot."

The two old friends sat for a little while longer talking about mundane things but for them it was relearning everything about each other. While they are clearly older there are some things that were exactly the same.

Xxx

It's been weeks of Heather and Cheryl catching up with each other. The first couple times they would hang out it would be out in public and it was definitely awkward. They barely knew each other but at the same time they knew everything. The friends barely knew how to be friends anymore after all the heartache and distrust on Cheryl's end. They're conversations started with a lot of "_hey, hi, how are you?_" and die off a little every time. But the more time they tried to fight through the awkwardness eventually it started to taper away and eventually found a new groove.

The new duo happened to spend a lot of their time hanging out at a little crepe, bookstore, and coffee shop that sat on the edge of Riverdale and Greendale. It became their new spot which held no bad memories for either one of them.

"I'm really glad that we've managed to move past our issues and able to be friends again Cher." Heather broke the silence they happened to be sitting in. It's a Thursday afternoon and the pair have been studying for most of the afternoon. It's quite the relaxing fall day and the landscape in front of them really was serene with all the hues of red, yellow, and orange running across the forest.

"Me too Heather. The first few times I didn't think we'd stop being weird around each other. But it's nice to have you back." Heather had placed her hand on top of the redhead's pale one and squeezed affectionately. Cher pulled back and grabbed at her cup of coffee to sip on. The blonde felt the rejection run through her veins.

"It's great to be back, I…"

_*Oh I don't need much to hold you. Lovely, just say you want me too* _A cell phone rang interrupting Heather mid-sentence knowing exactly who it was calling her dear friend. With an eye roll, Heather went back to her homework and notes when she knew the HBIC was going to pick up the call.

Cheryl saw the shift in attitude but chose to ignore it because she was too elated to hear that ringtone. Swiping at her lockscreen she rose up from her chair to move to the window across the coffee shop for some privacy.

"Hey baby."

"Hi babe. How's studying?" Toni's voice sounded utterly exhausted.

"It's going but I think I've taken in as much as my brain can handle. You sound tired my love. How'd it go?" The redhead always worried when Toni was out on a Serpent mission with the boys.

"I'm beyond tired. I could go for some serious cuddles with my girl." Cheryl would never deny her Queen's request seeing as she's hardly seen her plus she tended to be extra clingy when Toni put herself in danger for their family.

"I'm just about done here anyways. Meet you at home?"

"Already on my way to Thistlehouse."

"Way to assume babe."

"One could only hope to share Cheryl Blossom's bed."

Xxx

Weeks had gone by and everything seemed to be going well in their bubble but if you were to ask Toni it would be the complete opposite. Cheryl and Toni have barely crossed paths these days and it was starting to drive the pink-haired Serpent absolutely crazy. To be fair, they are both high caliber students, doing their own activities, Toni with Serpent business, Cheryl being student body President and the Vixen's head cheerleader, and Toni's shifts at the Worm were taking up all their extra time. By the time either one of them could reel back to try to make time for each other, sleep would sneak up on them first.

And then there was the Heather situation. Toni wasn't jealous. She doesn't _do_ jealous. But here she is laying on Cheryl's four poster bed being exactly that. She wasn't trying to be unreasonable but she missed her girl and spending time with her. A good amount of the redhead's extra time when she couldn't connect with Toni, was spent with new blonde Vixen.

"Babe, are you even listening to me?" The HBIC sighed from her walk-in closet while her arms fall to her sides with the outfits she's trying to pick out for her team night out with Heather, Veronica, Betty, and Josie.

Toni's pink curls flew as she sat up and shook her head. Being caught up in her thoughts, she had no idea what her girlfriend had asked her.

"I'm sorry baby. What was it?"

The heiress held up two different outfits while standing in the doorway. One outfit held a pair of red tight capris with a white crop top tee shirt that left her stomach show with a pair of knee high black boots. On the other hand held a black and red sequined romper that showed off her chest and legs with a pair of red signature stilettos.

"If you ask me baby, I'd say the romper. Are you sure I can't come with y'all? I think I'll have to shoo away all the guys and girls away from you." Light brown eyes eyed the Vixen in all her glory sporting a set of black lace bra and panty set.

"You know this is an only Vixen's outing my love, no significant others allowed tonight. But...if you happen to still be awake when the night's over…" Cheryl dropped both outfits on the chair while strutting over her girlfriend and straddling her lap on her bed. "...we could end the night the way we enjoy the most." The Serpent latched her hands onto the head cheerleaders plump ass to pull her closer to her hips. "I'd wait forever to have you Cher."

The words melted the redhead's heart but concerned her too because of the doubt and pain swirled in caramel brown eyes.

"Honey, what is it?" Toni's eyes held every emotion. The heiress saw everything in them and Toni's now trying to avoid her heavy stare was a big sign within itself.

"Nothing. Have a good time tonight. Okay? And be safe." The pink-haired goddess tried to remove herself from underneath her girlfriend in hopes of not bringing her girl down about her night out but a pale hand reached for hers once Toni got to her feet and kept her where she stood.

"Hey. Don't do that Toni. Something is bothering you, what is it?" Cheryl wanted to know what brought her lover's mood down.

Toni started to twist the edge of her t-shirt around her finger and the redhead picked up on it. It was a nervous habit she recognized that Toni did when she was anxious. "Ijustfeellikeallyouwanttodoisspendtimewithanyoneelsebutme." It came out fast, breathy, and mumbled and Cheryl could barely understand it.

"I'm sorry but what babe?"

The Serpent took in a giant breath to steady herself "I just feel like all you want to do is spend time with anyone else but me." She didn't turn around but stood still waiting for...anything, something.

"Oh Toni…" The redhead shook her head and sighed heavily because she feels like she should have known. "No. Why would you think that?"

"I know we've both been extremely busy but every time I have a free moment and think you might too I try to see you even for just a second but you're either with Heather or one of the other girls. It seems like you'd rather be with them than even see me."

"Look I'm sorry sweetheart but it's not like that at all. Like you said we've just been busy and I've been really caught up in my stuff. How about I just stay with you tonight instead of going out with the girls?"

"No, you don't have to do that. I know you've been looking forward to this event and you're the team captain. You can't not be there plus you've worked really hard to put this together so you deserve to blow some steam."

"Okay, well how about this? Next weekend we'll have a date night. Just you and me and no distractions."

"Sounds perfect baby." Toni wrapped her arms around Cheryl's shoulders tightly with the redhead lay on her chest and pale arms wrapped around her waist from her sitting on the bed. "Well I'll let you finish getting ready so you can head out." The Serpent grabbed her jacket and the keys to her bike and strapped her combat boots back on to walk back out the door.

"Toni?" Cheryl called out.

"Yeah?" Stopping in the doorway.

"You know you don't have to worry or be jealous, especially about Heather?"

"Huh?"

"I know her and I have been spending a lot of time together but it's always gonna be you Toni. I don't want her like that anymore or at all, not since you and never again because of you." It's like the Blossom heiress could read her mind. The Serpent Queen stood up and walked right over to Cheryl, grabbed her by the neck to pull her into a passionate kiss. Their lips moved perfectly like they're always meant to and when they pulled apart Toni could only say one thing.

"I love you."

"I love you too TT."

Xxx

_Next Friday_

Toni stared into the flame of the tall burning candlesticks that sat on top of the table in the formal dining room. The Serpent had spent most of the night slaving away in the kitchen to create one of Cheryl's favorite dishes, stuffed chicken marsala. It was quite the adventure from gathering all the ingredients after school, then getting everything prepped to cooking everything. She managed to pull off the dish and even cleaned the kitchen up. The pink haired girl was putting on the finishing touches of her outfit and her makeup. She'd hoped to get a big reaction from her girl with tonight's selection.

When Cheryl suggested date night last weekend just the two of them, Toni requested to have it at Thistle House. Cheryl was excited to have some one on one time with her girlfriend because everything seemed to be aligning and she wanted to bask in her happiness.

The pink haired goddess picked up her phone to call her girlfriend once again while silently wringing her free hand around the formal napkin in her lap.

"_You've reached Cheryl Blossom a.k.a. Cheryl Bombshell's voicemail. If it's important, feel free to leave a message. If not, try again later and if you're lucky I might pick up." *Beep*_

"Hey baby, I was just trying to reach you wondering if you got held up or something. I hope you're okay. Call or text me back. I love you Cher." _*Click*_

Toni sighed having to leave yet another message that was being left unanswered again. The Serpent expected her girlfriend to be home already but the clock is striking past 8 o'clock. Cheryl had Vixen practice until 6 and was supposed to be home by now. The HBIC did stay late sometimes for an extra workout of her own or held open gyms for those who might want to touch up on their choreography. But past 8 o'clock was way out of the norm especially without hearing from Cheryl by now.

As time kept ticking by and wax kept building up on the candle holders more and more deflated and angry the Serpent was getting. She could see all the signs that she was currently being stood up or forgotten about. As she blew out the candles and turned dimmed lights back up to full capacity with the dinner plates in her hands she heard the sounds of a set of keys being inserted into the door and the lock unlatching. Toni didn't even bother to stop her movements as she kept moving through the formal dining room into the kitchen to put away their meals.

Cheryl could hear the commotion towards the back of the house and followed it to bypass the formal dining room. She peaked in seeing the elegant candles that look a lot shorter than the last time she'd seen them. The rose printed placemats with the gorgeous silver was set out and a chair pulled out. The scent of her favorite meal wafted through the air.

_Fuck._

Slowly walking into the kitchen, the head Vixen spotted her girlfriend in an elegant black dress that left her back on display, stopped about mid thigh tying the whole outfit together by strappy rose gold heels. All that could be heard in the kitchen was the clinking of dishes and tupperware being snapped shut. Cheryl didn't know how to address her girlfriend since she royally fucked up. Quietly taking her phone out of her bag she saw the array of missed calls, texts, voicemails from the pink haired Serpent.

_Missed call - Babe 3 TT (6:45PM)_

_Babe 3 TT (6:30PM): Can't wait for date night baby._

_Babe 3 TT (7:00PM): You're probably still whipping your Vixens into shape but come home to me soon please. _

_Missed call - Babe 3 TT (8:00PM)_

_Voicemail - Babe 3 TT (8:25PM)_

Slipping it back into her bag she dropped her belongings onto the floor and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted.

"Don't even bother Cheryl. Enjoy your dinner. I'm leaving." Toni grabbed her Serpent jacket off the back of the stools by the island and shrugged it on. She didn't want to look at the redhead let alone listen to her explanation.

"Wait TT, I am so sorry. I last track of time and kinda forgot…" The head cheerleader knew that there was no way she could pull herself out of the grave she dug herself.

"What were you doing?" The pink haired goddess hasn't even bothered turning around fully. A slim hand reached out onto the countertop of the island to grab her keys.

"I was helping some of the girls tighten up their choreo and a couple others still weren't getting it." Cheryl took a few step forward in hopes of closing the distance between herself and her girlfriend.

"Let me guess, Heather needed some extra extra help." The Serpent's nerves felt exposed from the hurt she was feeling and knowing exactly what her girl's answer was about to be, she attempted to reign it in.

"Well yeah but she wasn't the only one."

"But she was the last one." Toni already knew. "Look, you brought up date night and I really thought you were all for it and wanted to spend some time with me but apparently not."

"Hey, that's not true. I'm sorry I forgot but look I'm here now." The heiress took the last few steps and grabbed ahold of Toni's hand wanting to show that her words rang true. But her girlfriend wasn't having any of it and pulled away from the redhead's touch.

"And now I'm over it. I spent most of this night cooking your favorite dinner because I feel like we've been two passing ships in the night from how busy we've been. Then the other half of the night was me being fucking pathetic sitting around waiting for you to walk through that door. No text or call to say hey I'm running late."

"What else do you want me to say Toni?! I am sorry I stood you up and I want to make it up to you now!" The redhead as always got defensive first and listened second and honestly Toni had lost all her patience. Normally, she'd dismiss those fighting words and take a second attempt to make her point. Fire was raging in both sets of brown eyes and it wasn't helping their situation.

"Just admit that you'd rather hang out with Heather than me." The pink haired girl growled out as her arms folded across her chest tightened around her lithe frame.

"What does Heather have to do with this?!" Cheryl's eyes hardened and immediately was at attention.

"I understand that y'all have some serious catching up to do but you've been spending every waking moment together. We've hardly seen each other and when I do see you, you're with her."

"Toni, I usually think it's hot when you're jealous but right now you're pissing me off. I'm sorry that me catching up with my best friend has become an inconvenience to our relationship. We've lost a lot of time. You know what this all meant to me. You also told me that you were okay with it. Now it's not. That's quite hypocritical."

"I am fine with it! My problem is that you constantly have plans with Heather or the other girls and barely even think twice to make any with me." Cheryl had no idea what to say because she didn't think she had put Toni on the back burner that much. She knew she wasn't as attentive as usual but Toni had been busy too. Either way she had no answers for her girlfriend and the Serpent couldn't even look at her but she could tell in her stiff posture, head down, shoulders sagging that she had hurt her immensely.

"I really am sorry Toni. What can I do? Please." The redhead felt like she was grasping for anything at this point because the guilt started to set in, the more her mind thought about it.

"I think we should take some time apart. Maybe you can figure out who or what you want right now."

"Is this an ultimatum?" Immediately feeling like she was losing Toni had her heart fall to her feet.

"You know me better than that. Of course not. I just think it must be difficult having your first love come back into your life and then be in a relationship with me at the same time. I can imagine that you can't imagine having feelings for her, in whatever way that is, because you have me and you're not going to hurt me like that."

"It's not like that Toni. I swear."

"I believe you Cher but you can't deny that it's affected us no matter how much you haven't meant it to. So I want you to figure it out. I just want you to be happy." Without another word Toni kissed Cheryl's cheek and walked through the door. The heavy slam of the heavy oak snapped the head cheerleader out of her daze and the tears pooling in her chocolate eyes fell over the edge and spilled over onto her cheeks.

Xxx

_2 weeks later._

Two weeks of radio silence from both the Serpent Queen and the HBIC. Toni figured that giving Cheryl some space would do them some good. As a couple it felt like they were constantly talking about the same damn thing. _Heather._ The pink haired girl felt like she was losing her girlfriend to her girlfriend's best friend. She wasn't jealous, she just didn't like having to fight for Cheryl's attention or her time all the goddamn time. Their relationship just felt so one-sided right now. They both understood that they had their own lives and friends but it was always so easy to balance before _she_ came into the picture.

Cheryl buried herself into student body president and head cheerleading duties to help dull the pain in her chest. But she knew that the constant confusion she was giving Toni wasn't helping their relationship either. The redhead could admit that she was caught up in hanging out with Heather quite a bit and the girls but it felt like old times to her. It was like she was back in middle school when she had Heather around to talk to her about everything and anything. Plus it felt like her girl gang was finally complete and back together.

But did that mean she had feelings for Heather still or again? She didn't believe so. One thing she was 100% sure about was that she loved Toni. That didn't change one bit because of Heather.

The HBIC was all out of sorts and wasn't sure who she could exactly talk to about this. She couldn't talk it out with Toni without hurting her more and she certainly wasn't going to talk to Heather and lead her on. Maybe one of the other girls could girl her some insight?

Strolling along the halls she found Veronica, Betty, and Josie in the student lounge and figure she could talk to her best friends. Falling heavily next to Josie then resting her head on her shoulder she sighed.

"Hey Cher. You okay?" Josie asked while laying her head on top of Cheryl's. Veronica and Betty stopped to really take a look at their captain and felt the sadness radiating off of her.

"Not exactly."

"Talk to us. Let us try to help." Betty encouraged.

"This is about Toni and Heather, right?" Veronica spit out. "Ow!" The blonde had slapped the dark brunette on her upper arm hard at her lack of tact.

"I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me." Ronnie rubbed her arm while ducking her head down.

"It's okay Ronnie. But yes, it's exactly that. I don't know how to feel I guess."

"About the situation or about the girls?" Josie chimed in.

"Please don't say it like that. Makes me feel like I have multiple girlfriends." Cheryl winced.

"Sorry. But how do you feel about Heather and Toni?" Betty asked softly.

The HBIC sat up and her mind was reeling from the question. "I..I-I. Heather was my first love ya know. I never really got that closure from her when she broke up with me freshman year then moved across the country. I didn't think I was going to be able to forgive her when she moved back here then we started over and it felt so natural. It was easy to go back into our friendship a lot easier than I thought."

"Would you say you have feelings for her again?" Veronica tried a softer approach.

"I-I..I don't think I do…" Cheryl's voice trailed off not exactly knowing the answer.

"Well you're happy to see her right? Like hanging out with her and spend time with her? Do you feel a certain way when she squeezes your hand or when she hugs to greet you or say goodbye? Is she someone you want to confide in first about things going on or when you're excited about something? Does your heart feel safe with her?" Veronica spewed out but not unkindly.

"I can say yes to all those questions but I don't know if it's in a romantic or platonic way."

"Have you almost had any close moments since she's been back?" Josie asked carefully.

"I-I mean I g-guess. It's like I can tell when she's disappointed about it but I manage to pull away every time especially when I thought certain touches were too long."

"Did Toni know any of that?" Betty wondered.

"God no." The redhead couldn't fathom the pink-haired beauty knowing that.

"Well then I think you might have an answer Cher…" Josie acknowledged.

"I can't! It can't be! I love Toni with all my heart. She is everything I could ask for in a girlfriend. She takes care of me, knows all of my favorite things, knows what I hate, can read me like nobody else, attentive, and god...her heart, her smile, and her eyes. I love everything about her." Tears were streaming down her face at the admission and the confusion that was swirling around in her head. It wasn't adding up for her.

"I think you have feelings for Heather as your first love and clearly you love Toni because you've been together for over a year now. But you should probably figure out where your heart lies Cher."

"I know…" Cheryl choked out. "Betty?"

"Yeah?"

"Where has she been staying?" The redhead HBIC was terrified as asking that question. She hoped that Toni would still at Thistle House but in a guest bedroom or she could have stayed at Thornhill with her parents but she knew that was wishful thinking when Toni hadn't shown back up the next night.

"Um...I didn't want to say anything and Jug asked me not to but she's been couch surfing the last couple of weeks. Jug found her on a park bench in the one night and begged her to stay with him for the time being." Cheryl cried harder into Josie's shoulder. _Guilt_. It flooded her and she was about to drown in it. Her feelings for Heather tore her and Toni apart and now her girlfriend was sleeping god knows where every night.

"She's okay Cher. Jug and the boys have been watching out for her. I didn't say anything because I didn't want you to feel guilty." Betty rubbed her back hoping to calm her best friend down.

"How can I not?! Her home's been with me for over the last year and I ripped it away from her because I don't know what my heart feels." At this point she was inconsolable.

"All you can do for you, her, and Heather is make a decision, be honest, and either give Heather closure or fix things with Toni. But I'm going to guess that they both just want you to be happy. We'll be here to catch you Cher no matter what you decide." The girls hugged her tightly while she tried to bring herself back together.

After her break down in the student lounge she felt like a walking ghost in the halls. She was still in her confident stride but she wasn't completely present.


	3. Heather's Back In Town Part 2

***Trigger warning in this chapter, skip over it please if it's too triggering for you.***

It's a typical Friday night for all of Riverdale High. The Bulldogs were playing their last conference game against Greendale before they start playing for the playoffs. The Vixens in full uniform were on the sidelines cheering their team on. The head cheerleader was in full-on HBIC mode tonight to be perfect in front of such a huge crowd and they were killing it and Cheryl knew it.

Toni was sitting at the top of the student section even though she didn't understand why she was putting herself through this torture. From up top she could see Cheryl and saw how absolutely gorgeous she looked in her element. God she loved that cheer uniform and how powerful Cheryl felt in it. But seeing her girlfriend, who might not be her girlfriend for that much longer, looked so happy while having Heather right next to her and that killed her. She could see the cheer duo laughing and shoving each other down below while in between cheers.

Cheryl took a chance to glance at the crowd while she thought of the next cheer they would perform next and she was shocked to see those rose gold locks that could only belong to Toni Topaz. There she was sitting in those bleachers in all her glory. The Serpent only ever came to games to support Cheryl and be her number one fan as Toni would say, but seeing as they aren't on the best speaking terms she didn't think she'd catch a glimpse of her especially at a sporting event. Their eyes sought each other out without really knowing it and when they locked eyes Toni couldn't help but smile painfully. She barely raised her hand up to wave down to the Vixen.

The redhead smiled back happily at Toni acknowledging her and the sheer warmth she felt from seeing that radiant smile she hadn't seen in a while. A pale hand also waved back to show her that Cheryl did see Toni too.

The pink haired Serpent was ecstatic to have a small moment with the redhead that it helped the ache in her chest dull just a little bit at being noticed by her girlfriend. She felt desperate for a sign of good faith to keep going with their relationship until they were both ready to talk. Toni thought that maybe she could reach out soon and be able to finally sit down and talk to her girlfriend with no interruptions to maybe come to an understanding.

The moment was cut short when a freckled arm reached out to Cheryl to show her that the Bulldogs were in a timeout and they should probably perform a number right now. The redheaded beauty saw that gorgeous smile she loved dim quite a bit at the intrusion and the person it came from but she had to go back to cheering for now.

As the time dwindled down and the scoreboard shining bright of the score 48 to 37 with the Bulldogs more than likely win the game the excitement was definitely in the air. Toni went down the bleachers to hopefully congratulate her girlfriend on a job well done and to give her a small token hoping that would extend an olive branch. But as the crowd got thicker with people leaving, the Serpent had to bob and weave to get to the fence that separated the track where the Vixens were.

"Oh my god, Cheryl! They won!" Heather jumped around excitedly while hugging the HBIC close to her body. The blonde was hoping that her signals had been clear about her feelings. She's respected Cheryl and Toni's relationship by staying out of it but she couldn't deny how she felt for the gorgeous Blossom anymore.

"I know! I just hope we keep this up throughout the playoffs! By the way, you were great tonight. All those late practices have definitely paid off." Cheryl complimented her best friend because her Vixens had been working hard non-stop for the last couple of weeks to be perfect on Friday nights.

"I definitely had a fantastic instructor." The hazel eyed girl winked at Cheryl.

"It was all you, you've been very dedicated." The captain tried to keep things neutral on her end.

"Thank you for being so patient with me through it all." Heather pulled Cheryl into a tight embrace as a thank you and maybe just to get a glimpse of what it's like to hold onto her like she once used to. The blonde pressed her nose into red locks catching the scent of Cheryl's perfume. The redhead hugged her back but not missing the intention behind it.

The blonde pulled back to take a look into dark mahogany eyes and then down to those full red painted lips. At that moment Heather found herself pressing her lips onto Cheryl's while they were still in their embrace. Cheryl barely registered what was happening when Heather kissed her. Toned pale arms were still around Heather's waist and she only kissed back for a few seconds when her eyes flew open and locked onto a pair of glassy milk chocolate brown eyes from the other side of the fence over Heather's shoulder.

Toni couldn't breathe. The wind just got knocked out of her lungs seeing Heather kiss Cheryl but what truly hurt the most was watching her girlfriend kiss the girl right back. Tears pricked her eyes quickly while she stared. She remembers what being held and kissed like that by Cheryl used to feel like. How she wishes it still was her. The Serpent's arms felt like lead and they dropped to her sides while the singular red rose fell out of her hands. Not being able to look anymore, she turned around to shove her way through the crowd.

Cheryl pushed Heather away from her at the hips and wiped the unfamiliar gloss off her lips. She had to go after Toni.

"Heather! What the fuck!"

Heather was taken aback by the response and dumbfounded at Cheryl being so furious. "What?! I thought you felt it too and knew how I felt about you!"

"You know I have a girlfriend!" Cheryl tracked Toni's hair through the crowd hoping not to lose her.

"Could have fooled me. I just thought that us spending so much time together then you and Toni barely talking. I thought you two were over."

"I have to go! Ronnie!"

"Are you okay Bombshell?" Veronica turned around at the sound of her name being shouted.

"Look I need to find Toni. Can you grab my stuff for me? I'll come to grab it from you later." Without even looking back Cheryl climbed over the fence trying to run in any direction in hopes of finding Toni. The touch of Heather's lips on her immediately turned whatever feelings she thought she had for the girl completely off. It's awful that it came down to a lip lock with the other girl to finally figure out what her heart actually wanted. Unfortunately, that's not how it works and it might have cost her Toni all together.

Toni could barely see who she was dodging and nudging to get through to her bike. She was crying and she couldn't stop it no matter how much she despised the fact people could probably see her this vulnerable. Bumping into a large person but she didn't even look up until she realized it was Sweet Pea.

"Tiny? What's wrong?" Sweet Pea wasn't typically a guy who showed too many emotions but when it came to Toni he always would. They'd grown up together and they'd had each others backs no matter what. His best friend looked distraught and it alarmed him a great deal.

"Can't talk. I need to go. Bye Sweets." Toni shoved Sweet Pea away from her body and took off sprinting to her bike.

"Toni!"

Cheryl heard a deep voice yell out the name of the one person she is desperately looking for. She swirled her head around until she saw Sweet Pea anxiously looking in a certain direction.

"Pea! Where is she?!" The redhead was starting to panic because she needed to get to her as soon as she could.

"She took off towards the parking lot. Do you know what happened? I've never seen her look like that before." Sweet Pea starting to ramble. The HBIC didn't even give him an answer but took off running to where Toni always parked her bike during Friday nights. Her lungs and legs burned but knew that she couldn't stop no matter how much her body begged her to. As she got closer and closer, she saw that Toni was hunched over trying to catch her breath too.

"TT…." Cheryl while trying to catch her breath.

"I can't Cher." Toni couldn't stand up straight.

"Toni, please! Just let me explain."

Whipping up so quick it almost knocked the Serpent off her feet. "No! You got what you wanted! You got your first love back okay! You can live your life exactly the way you want to now. Go be fucking happy with her! "

"I don't want her! I'm sorry you saw that! It wasn't what it looked like! Please-"

"I can't okay. I can't because you clearly made a choice and I'm not it." Toni shoved the key into the ignition and fired her bike to life. As soon as it roared she shifted into gear and zoomed out of the parking lot, leaving a heartbroken cheerleader in a panic.

"Toni! Wait!" Cheryl's throat ran dry from shouting so loud but knew it wasn't worth it. The girls came running from behind just to catch Cheryl before she fell to the ground from her sobbing.

"It's Toni. I want Toni." Betty, Veronica, and Josie stared at each other trying to figure out what to do next. The only thing that came to mind was to help Cheryl find Toni. They wouldn't know where to look but maybe driving around in a car would help calm her down a bit. Grabbing all their stuff then headed into the cherry red convertible. Betty sprawled out in the back seat with Cheryl in between her legs as the redhead bawled. Veronica took the lead on driving while Josie called her boyfriend, Sweet Pea, hoping he'd be able to give them some intel.

Xxx

Toni sped off towards Sweetwater River once she tore out of the parking lot. She knew better than to ride her bike emotional especially with unrelenting tears clouding her vision but she couldn't stay there. She couldn't stand in front of Cheryl like the bombshell hadn't yanked heart from out of her chest for everyone to see.

Following the same route she always had to get to her spot, she didn't have to pay attention too much to the roads at this point. Kicking the stand down and hopping off her bike she ran up the path to the edge. She went as close as she could then sat down letting her feet dangle. The sound of the river flowing and crashing over the boulders that's been there for decades always calmed her down. It's where she went to calm her nerves, to scream at the sky, to clear her head, to think, to stare at the stars. It's always been her spot.

The temperature had dropped quite significantly so she stood from the ledge and started gathering logs, sticks, twigs and dead grass to start a fire. The pit in the dirt is from where she and her friends and Cheryl would shove wood into to provide warmth at night. Always one to be prepared Toni had a box of matches on her all the time along with her pocket knife, wallet, and phone. After setting everything up she struck a match and dropped it into the pit for the dead grass to catch and blowing a slow stream of air to keep it going to light the twigs and sticks.

Her phone kept buzzing and she figured an array of people could be calling her but she couldn't bother picking it up. The Serpent didn't want to talk to anyone right now. She felt gutted, heartbroken, and just raw. She'd experienced pain in quite a few different ways throughout her life but this really took the cake. Does she regret it though? No, not at all. Having her heart broken by Cheryl wasn't anything she'd regret because the love was so real. Maybe just not enough but real.

All of the sudden sticks were snapping in the distance and it had Toni at high alert. She casually put her hands in her jacket reaching for her switchblade. She was sitting at the edge of Serpent and Ghoulie territory but still on her side so she didn't deem it being too much trouble. _Hopefully._

Xxx

The girls were driving around town aimlessly trying to find the future Serpent leader and so far nothing. Even after talking to Sweet Pea and Fangs, nothing. But it made the boys alert now too, trying to find their best friend who they now knew was hurting. Betty had also called Jason to help them seeing as Cheryl needed everyone's help. They'd checked out Pop's, the Bougie, the Whyte Worm, Thistle House, even Toni's uncle's trailer. Nowhere to be found and she also wasn't answering any of their calls or texts.

The crew was all sitting in a large booth in the back of Pop's trying to put their heads together on where Toni could be.

"You okay Red?" Sweet Pea asked, which shocked Cheryl at first seeing as he was Toni's best friend first.

"Not until I know she's okay. She might not want anything to do with me anymore but I need to know she's safe." The HBIC was hysterical but she kept it internal as she was trying to keep her cool.

"We'll find her okay. And she loves you so much Red so whatever happened between you guys, that won't change." His words washed over her and brought her some strength to keep going and focus. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his large strong frame. If Sweet Pea could say that with confidence, then she could entirely believe it.

Xxx

ib(_TRIGGER WARNING: sexual assault)/i/b _

Toni could make out about three people trekking their way through the woods right to her. The fire was an indicator that someone was in said space. As quietly as possible the Serpent grabbed her belongings and put them in their respective pockets. Then a maniacal laugh could be heard and she knew they were Ghoulies.

The Ghoulies were the rivals of the Serpents and it's been that way for as long as Toni could remember. They were bat shit crazy criminals who were territorial over dealing. The Serpents were trying to legitimize themselves but it was hard to get a lot of the elders out of that game. But the three Ghoulies coming to light were ones she could recognize. The two boys flanking the one in the middle, she had seen when they were attending Southside High still. But the one in the middle leading them was the one she despised the most.

_iNick fucking St. Clair./i_

He had been after Toni since they were teenagers. He never could understand no or any form of it. The stupid boy thought he could "turn" her straight one night with him. The fake suave man tried multiple times and it was always the same result. Eventually, it started to frustrate him but he was persistent as ever.

"Well well well….look who we have here boys." Nick and the other two neanderthals stood in front of Toni while she tried to stay calm.

"Nick."

"Oh Antoinette, is that any way of greeting an old friend?" Nick loved calling her by her first name. He used to claim it was so much better than being called Toni which made her eyes roll so hard.

"We were never friends." The Serpent was trying to keep it short and not be intimidated by him but either way, she was outnumbered.

"Can't we put everything behind us and enjoy this fire you put together?" Nick and the boys surrounded her.

"Ya know what? I'm actually going to head out. You guys can enjoy this fire and I'll go." Toni tried to stand up but the grip of Nick and the boy's hands on her shoulders and hips kept her in place.

"We think we'd like it if you stayed and have some fun with us." They all pulled out some jingle jangle and took it right away.

"How about you get your fucking hands off of me?" The Serpent growled through her teeth while shoving their hands off her body.

"You know you like it, Antoinette. Don't pretend that you never wanted me." Nick brought out his switchblade and pressed it into her tanned cheek and down the side of her neck. She gulped while she felt two other pairs of hands grab her backside, the inside of her legs, her midsection, anywhere they felt like it.

Looking around there wasn't really any way out of this without getting herself seriously hurt. So she sat still waiting to see how this was going to pan out and it didn't look too good for her.

"You and I could have ruled the Southside together. Combining the Ghoulies and Serpents, us serving as king and queen rightfully so and having everything we could have ever want." He leaned forward, pressing his face into her neck while she tried to wriggle herself away from him but the other boys kept her in place as she tried shrugging them off.

"I would never have let that happened. And please, I'd rather be dead than be anything with you." The Ghoulie prince always enjoyed a challenge but now he was getting more and more pissed off.

"You are really testing my patience but I'm done waiting for you to come to your senses and I'm just going to take what I've been craving." He had grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled forced her to kiss him. She had tried to move away from him but it was no use. The only thing she managed to do was elbow him into his ribcage as hard as could and tried to run. But one of the other boys grabbed her ankle and tripped her along the time.

The wind was knocked out of her by falling straight onto her front. The Ghoulie held onto her ankle while she tried to kick and crawl her way away from the trio. Nick held onto his ribs while walking his way over to her. He kicked Toni right into her ribs so hard that she knew that he had broken a few of her ribs immediately from his steel toe boot. She screamed into the night at the heat shot through her ribcage.

But it didn't stop her from trying to fight her way through this. She grabbed her knife from her pocket when a giant boot stomped on her wrist to get it away from her grasp. When that seemed to not work, she punched at the boys coming for her and knocking them off their feet surprising them all with her strength.

But two against one and yet they still underestimated her. She kicked behind their knees making them fall in front of her while she kneed them in their noses. The grunts of pain from that move alone had Nick clapping.

"That's enough playing around. Do some damage boys until she can't utter a single word." He moved away from the crowd and let the two other boys compose themselves before letting them enjoy their prize. They both shoved her hard to the ground again which left Toni to curl into a ball trying to protect herself but the fists came flying to her stomach, her face, her ribs, her back. Then feet were kicking at her legs trying to break her fetal position.

The pain was excruciating. She'd been jumped before but at least her fellow Serpents were always close behind to help her get out of a situation. But she didn't have that now. The Serpent knew bones were breaking, tendons were torn, her skin was bruising and swelling and she was losing blood. She was hoping that once they got their fill that they'd leave her there and leave.

But she only got so lucky.

Nick raised his hand and the boys immediately stopped they're attack on the Serpent girl and saw that they'd succeeded in shutting her up. Toni could barely breathe let alone move but she could hear feet coming towards her.

Hands flipped her over onto her back and she silently cried out in pain because screaming would cost her her energy at this point. The darkness was starting to creep into her consciousness but she was more scared of passing out and not waking up than anything else.

Flashes of Cheryl were running through her mind trying to keep her mind steady. She couldn't die like this. She needed to win her girl back but every passing second of this torture was ripping her away from that. This couldn't be her end. No way.

The Ghoulie Prince sat across her hips without adding pressure to her body but still pinning her to the ground. He ran his knife over the buttons of her flannel. She laid perfectly still trying to not get herself stabbed. He started to cut the thread of the buttons having the fabric starting to fall open and her wounds were exposed to the bitter cold air.

"Urrrg" Toni's jaw was practically swollen shut at this point with blood dripping out of her mouth but she didn't like being exposed to this monster.

It only caused him to press the blade harder between her breasts to the point where the lace of her bra was starting to fray apart. God this couldn't be happening. But her body was in so much pain that she couldn't even move, let alone fight anymore. She felt her breasts become exposed and she tried her hardest to squirm but he put more of his weight on her hips.

He nodded his head to signal the other two boys and they pinned down her arms by simply stepping on her wrists. Her head moved back and forth praying to any God that heard her prayers to make this stop.

Xxx

"Where does Toni go to like think or have some space?" Ronnie asked while leaning onto Archie. He had come along when Jughead called for backup on trying to find Toni. When Jughead hadn't heard from her and she didn't come back to his trailer right after the game, he could feel something was wrong.

Something about that question triggered something in Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Cheryl's minds and they instantly looked to each other. Having the same exact thought they knew where to go.

"Sweetwater River, let's go." The searching crew starting to scramble out of the booth, Archie had told Jason to go down to the police station and talk to Tom Keller for help.

Serpents hopping onto their bikes, Archie heading to his truck with Jughead, and the girls filling up Cheryl's convertible they sped off to Toni's spot. They should have known but didn't come to mind right away from them being so frantic. Cheryl hoped that she would find her girlfriend there but something about this doesn't feel right.

Winding up the trail to get to the top of the ledge that the pink-haired girl liked to hang out they came across her bike parked before the clearing to the trail.

Xxx

Toni was suffocating under the disgusting hands of the Ghoulie who was violating her. The other two had their hands pressed against her windpipe but not tight enough to make her pass out. She was sick to her stomach, all she wanted was Cheryl. He'd sliced through the seam of her jeans between her legs. He managed to shimmy his way down over her legs to keep her from kicking anymore. The fear was so real at him taking something that was strictly for herself and Cheryl.

He pawed at her chest and yanked at her peaks for pain when he felt like it while keeping his knife pressed into her skin. Rough hands cupped her mound and she thrashed hard to get away from the intruding touch.

"I suggest you lay still or else I'll go after that pretty little girlfriend of yours." That got a reaction out of Toni immediately.

"Don't you fucking dare go near her." Her voice was barely recognizable from the Ghoulies pressing their hands so hard on her throat for their enjoyment.

"Ohhh. That's what will get you to talk." Nick was going to make her regret that. He leaned back and unzipped his pants rubbing his erection through his briefs. The struggle of being forceful with the Serpent beneath him got him going.

Once hearing the zip Toni started to fight harder and he pulled his member out. He tore at her panties leaving her open to him. Nick pressed himself on her but not in and she could feel every muscle in her body screaming at her while she thrashed. He pushed hard while biting at her neck, licking at her chest, and kissing her stomach and wherever he could reach.

"You're going to say her name while I have my way with you." He taunted.

"Fuck you."

"That's not her name. I already know it."

"No." Toni would never give Cheryl up, not ever.

Nick didn't like no. He hated it. So be it. He was taking the one thing Toni loved more than anything from her. Taking the blade of his knife and pushing the fabric of her flannel away some more her start to carve into her skin right above her hip bone.

Toni screamed with so much force at the sting and pain at being cut open.

_iEnd of sexual assault scene/i_

Xxx

A blood-curdling scream cut through the air and that had everyone freeze. Cheryl's blood ran cold at that sound because she knew it had to be Toni. The group took off running in the only direction they could go and when they got to the top of the ledge they weren't expecting the sight before them.

Nick and two other boys pinning a pretty much unconscious Toni with her clothes tattered and sliced off her body. That perfect body that all the boys drool over and all the girls envy was now so unrecognizable from the cuts, bruises, blood, and swelling.

"Toni?!" Cheryl's scream sent everyone reeling because this couldn't be real.

Nick shuffled off of Toni while adjusting himself back into his pants. He had the audacity to laugh and takes off running into the woods. The boys all seeing red immediately chased after the Ghoulies while the girls went straight to the battered girl laying on the ground.

Cheryl fell to her knees right before Toni's body. Her hands hovered because she didn't know where to tend to first and the last thing she wanted to do was inflict more pain. Her girlfriend didn't look anything like herself and that just about cut her open itself. Her rose gold hair was socked with her own blood. Handprints bruised around her usually delicate tan neck. Looking at her arms and legs it was a lot of cuts and bruises. But what worried the Vixen the most was her torso and her pelvis. Her body was completely different shades of blue, purple, and black including the blood seeping out from her.

"Cher?" Toni breathed out. The Serpent was having a hard time breathing and staying awake but the scent of the girl she loved hit her senses.

"You're hurt." Cheryl stripped off her zip-up hoodie and draped it over Toni's body to keep her from being so bare.

"What? This? You should see those other idiots." Her girlfriend would try to crack a joke at a time like this but she chuckled nonetheless with no humor behind it.

"I bet. But we need to get you to a hospital." Veronica, Josie, and Betty were taking off what they could to try to cover Toni up the best they could. She looked pale from the blood she lost and from the chill that was really setting in. They could only imagine what happened to her but eventually red and blue lights and sirens were sounding off from a distance.

Betty ran down the trail to meet up with Jason, the cops and the ambulance to speed up the process. Sheriff Keller ran off into the woods with his fellow officers to help the boys out where they heard them struggling against each other. The blonde ran up the path with the EMS trailing behind her.

"I-I love you Ch-Cheryl. I-I'm s-s-sorry." Toni's head was laying on the redhead's lap to help keep her awake. The Vixen wanted to give as much of her body heat to the Serpent to keep her body temperature from dropping any more.

"W-what? You have n-nothing to apologize for. It's me who should be saying sorry. But I love you too. So much. It's you, okay. No one else." Cheryl had tears streaming down her face because this wasn't the time to do this. She was downright scared to her bones of losing the love of her life in her lap.

"Toni, hold on okay?" Josie said in hopes of giving her some hope.

Blood kept pooling at Toni's waist and Ronnie could see it from where she was hovering so she took off her long sleeve. She starts to fold it up to put it under the zip-up hoodie but once Toni saw Veronica moving towards i_that/i_ spot she started to freak out.

"N-no please. N-not there. D-d-don't look. Please. No." The pink-haired Serpent kept repeating herself while tears fell into her blood-soaked hair.

Before anyone could ask Toni about it Betty and Jason burst through the opening and the paramedics were right behind her.

"Ladies, you're going to have to take a step back so we can help your friend. We're going to try to get her on that stretcher so we can get her to the hospital, okay?" Everyone nodded and starting to step away but Cheryl couldn't do it. She felt like if she was out of reach for Toni then that was it. She was gone. Josie noticed her hesitation. "Sweetie, let them help her." The redhead scooched her way out from under Toni but held her hand as they tended to her injuries.

"Stay awake for me Toni, okay?" The paramedics didn't want her to close her eyes. Living in Riverdale injuries wasn't new to them but this was a whole new level. Seeing the condition this girl was in made the EMS partners be cautious in not triggering the Serpent. "You've got a lot of people who have your back. They're gonna make sure no one else hurts you."

Tears fell down Cheryl's face as she heard the EMS speak to her mostly passed out girlfriend. She eventually relented Toni's hand to let them put her on the spinal board to get onto the stretcher. They carefully pushed the stretcher down the path to reach the rig.

Chief Keller had all the boys with the Ghoulies lined up by the police cars except the three criminals were in handcuffs and shoved into the back of the police cars. The boys looked worse for wear but none of them felt bad for what they had to do to get their revenge. Cheryl's eyes zoned in on Nick being the last one being put into a car and she lunged. But luckily Jason was just as attentive to Cheryl and he jumped into action to keep his twin from murdering the boy.

They all heard Nick laughing before it became muffled by the car door being shut at getting a reaction from the Blossom. Tom stepped into her vision and put a hand on her shoulder to help calm her down.

"Cheryl, we've got them. They are going to go down for what they did to her okay?" Tom Keller never made any promises he couldn't keep. He'd seen a handful of these situations but most never panned out in charging and putting these guys away because it always turned into he said, she said. Tonight though, he was sure there wouldn't be any chance that they could walk from this. "They will. I swear to God they will."

Jason hugged Cheryl while walking her to the back of the rig where the paramedics were carefully loading Toni's body.

"We don't typically let those who aren't family members or next of kin in here but…"

Jason spoke up, "Actually she is."

"What?" The HBIC whipped her head around to stare at her brother.

"Umm, after Toni turned 18 she officially had the papers drawn up that you were her next of kin and power of attorney. Eventually going to be crowned being Serpent Queen, she wanted to be prepared just in case something happened to her." No one knew what she did except Jason.

"Well then, hop in." Without a second glance, she hopped into the rig right next to Toni's head trying not to sob.

"We'll meet you Riverdale General!" Veronica shouted before the doors shut and the ambulance sped off.

Xxx

Once Chief Keller had released the boys to the girl's custody, they rushed to get to the hospital. Cheryl was already pacing the length of the waiting room and hugging herself tightly. The gang plowed their way through the front desk once they saw the head cheerleader in Toni's Serpent jacket. She always felt closer to her girlfriend with it on when she'd leave it behind some days.

"Is there an update?" Fangs were the first one to break the silence.

"Uh, they ran her in pretty quickly and haven't said much else." The girls settled into the uncomfortable chairs while the boys sat stoically on the other side of them. A couple of hours go by before anyone steps out.

"Family of Antoinette Topaz?" A man with salt and pepper hair and a surgical mask tied around his neck called out.

Everyone shot out of their seats but let Cheryl stand front and center. "How is she?"

"She's a fighter but still in surgery. She lost quite a bit of blood from her injuries, has a few broken ribs, two disks in her spine had to be put back in place, we have to do a hip and knee replacement on her left side from the amount of damage done while she was attacked. There is one more thing we need to consider but I think it's something I need to talk to Ms. Blossom about." The men hugged their significant others while Sweet Pea stormed off wanting to kill the bastards that did this to his best friend. Fangs went after him making sure he wouldn't do anything idiotic. It's something Toni would request of him.

Stepping away with the doctor who suddenly turned even more concerned and sad than he had been while speaking to the group. The redhead was terrified of what he might have to divulge to her.

"Let's have a seat because this isn't going to be an easy conversation to have."

Slowly settling into the chair and facing the doctor she nodded at him to indicate that she was ready. Stealing herself a deep breath to prepare for the worst.

"Ms. Topaz is going to have to stay in a drug-induced coma for a couple of days to rest her body. But we need her or her next of kin's permission to do a rape kit on her. Seeing as she can't make that decision for herself right now. It's something I need to ask you."

The world around Cheryl started to blacken at the thought of Nick violating Toni in that way. How could he do that to her?! She figured that something had to happen besides physically harming her because her girlfriend's clothes were cut apart to have most of her body uncovered.

"We only ask because a rape kit needs to be done within 72 hours to get accurate results."

"Did he...h-he r-rape her?" Cheryl could barely utter out the words.

"We're not 100% sure. He might not have but we won't be sure until we do the kit. From what we saw with the condition of her clothing and certain injuries she's obtained, it's possible. We also want to tend to all of her injuries." The doctor solemnly said.

"For the sake of her health, I will allow it. Will you be able to tell me the results?"

"Yes, we can if that's what you'd like. Is there anything we can do for you or your friends? From what I heard, you were all the ones who found her and got her assailants?"

"Yes, we were but I think as long as we're all updated frequently then we shall be placated for the time being." Cheryl stood on shaky legs and headed back to the group. The girls opened their arms for her and she fell into their embrace because the one person she wanted couldn't comfort her right now.

Xxx

The results of the kit had been negative and Cheryl had never been so relieved in her life. But the doctor had warned Cheryl that it didn't rule out that Toni wasn't sexually assaulted in some other form. Seeing as her girlfriend was on her third and last day of being in a drug-induced coma she couldn't provide her any other information.

Chief Keller had been in and out of the hospital checking in on Toni and the relentless crew staying at the hospital while waiting for her to wake up. The police had already taken all of their statements in what happened that night and trying to keep it as short so they didn't keep making the kids keep talking about it more than they were already thinking about it. But he gently reminded the redhead that he would need to come back for Toni's statement.

The HBIC never left the hospital. Luckily the girls and Jason had rotated picking things up from Thistle House for her so she could be comfortable during her stay. Cheryl also requested that they retrieve some easy clothing for Toni for when she finally wakes up. That morning they started to ween her off the drugs and they expected her to wake up sometime in the afternoon.

Josie's mom, attorney Sierra McCoy was taking on Toni's case pro bono. From what Sierra told them was that it was going to be an easy case to win and she wanted to squeeze out the most out of their sentences if Toni chose to report and charge the three boys who attacked her. The Ghoulies were being held in the county prison for the time being. But their attack on Toni only brought on anger from all the Serpents and they wanted war. Far be it for teenagers to be reasonable, Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Jughead had begged the elders and his father to hold off until they knew what Toni wanted.

i4:47 PM/i

Cheryl was sleeping uncomfortably on a plastic chair next to Toni's hospital bed. Her head carefully was laying next the hand the redhead was clutching onto. For the most part, Toni was breathing on her own while she was in her coma. It was a good sign of recovery on the medical side of things.

Toni ached everywhere. She felt foggy and her body felt like lead but she could tell the softness of the hand that was in hers. It was Cheryl's. Her throat was on fire so speaking was very difficult. So she squeezed the hand in hers hoping it'll get her girlfriend's attention.

The Vixen felt pressure around her fingers and wasn't sure if she was dreaming of the feeling or not. She couldn't sleep deeply while Toni was in the hospital. Sitting up slowly and rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes she blinked up at her girlfriend. She didn't recognize it at first but milk chocolate eyes were staring back at her.

"Oh my god, baby. Are you really awake?" Cheryl shot out of her chair and cupped Toni's face in her hands carefully. Her girlfriend could only blink at her and nod slightly. The redhead reached over and pressed the button to alert the doctors and nurses that Toni's awake.

"Ch-ch…cher?" Cheryl nodded her head while silently crying. Grabbing the pitcher of water next to Toni's bedside she pours her a small cup to sip on to help soothe her throat.

"I'm here TT. Do you remember what happened?" The doctors mentioned that Toni could have slight amnesia from the drugs and her injuries but it was highly unlikely that she'd lose her memory altogether.

"Uh… I was sitting by the fire pit at Sweetwater river when some Ghoulies attacked me." Before Toni could go on a whirlwind of medical professionals stormed through the room checking Toni over and her reflexes.

"Hey Toni, I'm Doctor Shepard. I was covering your case when you came into the hospital. How do you feel?"

"Like someone beat the shit outta me." Toni joked.

"Babe…" Cheryl didn't approve but knew that was 100% her girl.

"Well yes, you were attacked. Good that you remember. We were worried that the amnesia would be a big factor. Do you want us to go over your injuries right now?" He had no intention of overwhelming the girl.

"Yes, I need to know what's the damage." Toni didn't need anyone protecting her. She knew her body was fucked up beyond belief.

"Very well. Your injuries were quite severe coming into the hospital a few days ago. We pulled you into surgery for your broken ribs, two slip disks in your back that had the potential of damaging your spinal cord and replacing your left hip and knee. Everything else is superficial in comparison to your surgeries but you will be sore for quite some time and your skin will be discolored. But with time those will heal. Your recovery for your surgeries, on the other hand, will take longer but I don't see how you won't recover completely. We're also going to have the trauma counselor come in and talk to you to make sure you know your options once you're out of here."

"Um...how long will I need to be in the hospital for?"

"At least another week to make sure all your post-op surgeries don't give you any complications. After that, it will be physical therapy for your hip and knee. Seeing as your 18, young, and active getting back on your feet completely with no issues should only take a couple of months, 6 at the most. Do you have any other questions?"

"Shit, I could only imagine how much this is going to fucking cost me." The numbers starting flying through her mind and trying to add it all together.

"Don't worry about it Toni, the cost has been covered." Dr. Shepard casually dropped that snippet

"How?!"

"Seems like your family here pulled it in together to cover the costs of your hospital expenses even your rehabilitation."

"What family?" Toni's uncle would never care enough to pay for it and her grandfather couldn't afford this. Besides them, there wasn't anyone else. She looked to her right to see her girlfriend rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Babe?"

"It wasn't just me. Of course, I wanted to cover all of it and my parents offered to also. But then so did Veronica, Betty, Josie, and Archie's parents did too. They adore you and hate that this happened to you. So it's all covered. You don't have to worry about anything besides getting better."

"I-I uh, I don't know what to say besides thank you."

"Thank you for being so brave and being here with me still." The head cheerleader's emotions have been all over the place since her girlfriend's attack. She never had such a scare in her life.

"For right now, we'll manage your pain and start you with rehab as soon as you think you can handle it. But rest for now and hit this button to manage your drip." Dr. Shepard bowed out after updating her chart and said he'd check on her later.

Xxx

A few days had passed by during Toni's recovery when Tom Keller knocked on her door and peeped his head in. He tried to push off this conversation for as long as he could to give her time to recover. But the police station was pushing to get her statement now that Toni was awake.

Cheryl was currently out grabbing them lunch and it was a way to have some space just for herself. It's not that Toni didn't appreciate having her girlfriend there with her this whole time but she could see it was starting to wear her down. It was easy having everyone do everything for you because you just physically can't right now. She also didn't know if they were still together. After what happened Friday night and what made her take off running, she wasn't sure if it was out of guilt and obligation than Cheryl just wanting to be there with her. They had a lot to talk about it but she figures it going to have to wait.

"Hi Toni, I'm Tom Keller."

"Sheriff Keller. What can I do for you?" The Serpent didn't have time to mess around.

"I've put off coming to get your statement so you could recover but I can't any longer. Do you have some time to talk?" As he spoke, Cheryl happened to stroll back in silently with wide eyes.

"Cher, he's just here for my statement." The head cheerleader sat on the edge of the bed after putting their food from Pop's on the side table.

"Cheryl, are you sure you want to be here during this discussion?"

"I'm not leaving her to talk about something this traumatic by herself. I'm staying." A pale hand slipped into a tanned one and interlaced their fingers together. Toni cracked a small smile at the gesture and squeezed it as a sign of thanks.

"Okay. Let's start easy. Why were you even at Sweetwater River that night?"

"I had just left the football game upset and I needed to think. The ledge by Sweetwater River has always been my place to do that."

"Alright. I can imagine that you very well know that, that area is right at the border of your Serpent territory and Ghoulie territory."

"I do." Toni always kept it short and concise with the police.

"Was the events of Friday night, have anything to do with any Serpent business?"

"No."

"Okay. Can you tell me what happened while you were there? Take your time." Tom sat down in the chair on the other side of Toni's bed as a way to show that he wasn't going to rush her like other officers tended to do. He was there for her story and nothing else.

"Um...yeah." She gripped Cheryl's hand tightly when flashes of her attack ran through her mind. All the redhead could do was be there for support as she pressed her lips to the top of Toni's head. "Like I said, I went there to think and have some space. Then I realized how cold it got so I started a fire which now feels like a dumb moving seeing as that's how they spotted me."

"Can you clarify on who "they" is?" The Sheriff took notes while they spoke.

"I only know the name of one, the other two I recognized from when Southside High was still open. We all went to school together but Nick St. Clair is the one I know."

"Do you have any history with Nick besides just school?"

"Nick used to harass me all the time. Not just during Serpent business either. He wanted me but I denied him quite frequently. It's like he got off on the thrill of the chase but I've always been clear about not wanting anything to do with him. But he'd still grab me, cat call at me, constantly text me foul messages."

"Did you tell anyone at school?" Toni scoffed at such a question.

"You've got to be kidding right? Administration didn't believe me, telling me I was just being dramatic and that he was just being a boy. After the first time, I never went back to telling them anything. Then months later we got split up when Southside High was shut down." Cheryl's sat and tried to keep her anger to herself for the time being.

"I'll look into it."

"No need."

"No, there is a need. If they didn't feel the need to hear you out and be proactive then they have no right being an administrator at a school. Moving on, you were at the ledge, then what?" Tom insisted.

"Well I was sitting by the fire when I started to hear sticks breaking and instantly figured it was people walking through the woods then I heard them laugh and I knew exactly who it was. I tried to seem unbothered when they came through the woods showing themselves to me. I had already grabbed my stuff to try to get away but I was already outnumbered."

"Do you think they had the intention of attacking you right when they approached you?"

Toni thought about it, "not at first I don't think. But once Nick snapped his fingers, they did."

"Why do you think they attacked you?"

"It's not what I think, it's what I know. Nick wasn't happy that I told him no for the millionth time." The pink-haired girl getting irritated at these stupid questions.

"Okay, go on."

"When I tried to walk away they surrounded me and held me down to sit by my shoulders and waist so I couldn't leave. Then Nick kissed me and I elbowed him as hard I could in his ribs to get him off of me. I got up to run away but one of the other boys caught my ankle and tripped me." Cheryl rubbed Toni's arm for comfort.

"At that point, I lost my breath from the fall. I tried getting my switchblade but one had stepped on my wrist and got it from me so then start throwing punches. They seemed to be surprised I knew how to fight. Once Nick got tired of watching my fight with his morons, he kicked straight into my ribs with his steel boot." The Serpent rubbed her side knowing exactly where he'd broken her ribs.

"I knew he'd broken my ribs. At his command, he'd told the other two boys to shut me up and that's when they both really started to hit and kick me all over my body. I just curled up into a ball because I was already in so much pain from my ribs I couldn't get up. I hoped they would leave me there once they got their fill." Tears leaked from Cheryl's eyes from hearing what actually happened that night to her love.

"But once I thought they were done, Nick put me on my back. I could tell I was starting to lose consciousness from the pain but I stayed awake. He straddled me over my hips pining me to the ground." The redhead could tell the uneasiness coming off of Toni so she shuffled her way carefully onto the bed to put her arm around her smaller frame.

"The other boys kept my arms down by their feet and had their hands around my neck but not enough to make me pass out. I tried so hard to get them and Nick off of me especially when he start to c-cut my clothes o-off of me." The Serpent couldn't keep her sobs to herself anymore. Flashes of his face and how helpless she felt kept creeping up on her the more she shared. "Then he sliced my bra apart and the seam of jeans between my l-legs and l-left me pretty much n-n-naked to the three of them. He k-kept touching me everywhere and left his knife pressed against me. It was his way of keeping me from moving too much or else I'd get seriously stabbed."

Toni clutched onto Cheryl harder, "H-he got off on m-me struggling. Then he unzipped his p-pants and took his p-p-penis out. Nick laid r-right on top of me biting, licking, and kissing me all over and I-I c-c-could feel h-him hard against me. He t-tried to g-go into me but when he wasn't getting a response from me besides thrashing around, he'd threatened me with him trying to get to Cheryl and I just about lost it. That's when he'd sliced me with his blade." The Serpent's sobs were so heavy she could hardly breathe. It's like they were choking her again and letting her barely breathe.

"It's okay Toni. We can stop here."

"After I screamed I passed out from the pain and the next thing I remember is seeing Cheryl."

"Okay. I'm so sorry this happened to you Toni. They're all being held at the state prison right now. Do you want to charge them with assault and battery, sexual assault, and attempted rape?"

"Will she have to go on trial if she does?" Cheryl only had eyes for Toni and her well-being. Because what if she had to testify and go into more detail about what happened in front of everyone?

"She'll have to testify but with all the evidence of her attack and all the witnesses and Sierra as her lawyer. I'm going to guess this an open and shut case. But Toni, it's up to you."

It didn't take very long for the pink-haired girl to come up with an answer. She never wanted this to happen to another girl ever again. She wanted those bastards locked up and rot in prison. She also had no desire to put Cheryl's life on the line with how explosive Nick can be. "I want to charge them of all the crimes they committed against me and I'll drag them through court."

Cheryl was in awe of her girlfriend and her bravery because she certainly didn't have to go to these lengths but she was so strong. Despite the nightmares that came every night and the anxiety attacks from her triggers she was doing the best she could.

"Thank you for taking the time to share your story with me Toni. I'll talk to Attorney McCoy and let her know what you plan to do. If you need anything, let me know. I'm sorry again that this happened but I'm going to help put those fuckers in prison for the rest of their lives." Tom silenty left after his spoken promise.

"God you amaze me Toni. I'm so thankful you survived." Cheryl stroked rose gold locks through her fingers while resting her palm on a still very bruised cheek. All Toni could do was look into brown eyes and get lost in them. Her reality sucked and it was all starting to become too much. The magnetic pull between them was always there, even in this moment. They closed the distance and it was the first time they'd shared a kiss in weeks. A kiss that meant everything to Cheryl and hope for Toni. But the moment was short-lived when a flash of a certain liplock happened in front of Toni's eyes.

A hand pressed into Cheryl's chest so she pulled back and looked at her girlfriend's face.

"We shouldn't, not when there's someone else for you." Toni pulled away from Cheryl's embraced and stared at her lap.

"Toni, no. I know we haven't had a chance to talk about what happened with us and Friday night but that kiss meant nothing."

"Cher, I can't right now okay. Can we talk about it later? I'm drained from talking to the Sheriff, I can't handle this conversation right now either. Why don't you go home?" It's not like Toni really wanted to send her away but she didn't see how Cheryl would want to stay.

"I'm not going anywhere. You can rest and sleep but I'll be here when you wake up and we can talk about this then." Toni's response was turning her head to face the opposite wall because she couldn't look at Cheryl. She was within reach of her girlfriend but yet felt so far. But she reached her hand back and instantly a hand slipped into hers. The redhead went back into the plastic chair and laid her head down while leaving their interlocked hands next to Toni's hip.


	4. Heather's Back In Town Part 3

Toni slept for a few hours after she pressed the button to her IV drip a couple of times to pull her under into some deep sleep and numb her body a bit because of the constant pain. As far as she knows she held onto Cheryl's hand the whole time and when she woke up Cheryl still was there. Stretching her neck out after facing one way for a few hours had her pretty stiff. Looking over she caught a glimpse of familiar crimson hair thrown up in a haphazard bun and she realized her girlfriend was still asleep.

Girlfriend?

Were they still together?

That question was pushed aside during the craziness of her attack, coma, surgeries, and post-ops. But after their kiss from last night, it made her question Cheryl's intentions by being there day in and day out. It's not that she doesn't appreciate it but why would she stay if she chose Heather? But that kiss meant everything to Toni, she hadn't kissed Cheryl in weeks and her body and heart craved it. It was feeling like coming home. But now home felt a little jaded just like any home she's ever been in before.

But were i_they/i_ together now?

Was that Cheryl and Heather's first and only kiss the one she witnessed on Friday night?

Or was guilt and obligation the reason why Cheryl felt like sticking around?

So many questions and no answers. i_Yet._/i This conversation was one she wasn't sure she could handle right now. But could she keep having Cheryl around with her questioning 24/7 if they were still a couple or not? No. It needed to happen but Toni didn't think she could deal with much more damage to her heart.

Two shadows from her peripheral vision caught her attention to look up and see Josie and Sweet Pea hovering by the door. She coughed slightly to get their attention and nodded to show that they could come in.

"Hey T. How are ya feeling?" Sweet Pea whispered to keep from waking the redhead up.

"I've had better days. What are y'all doing here?"

"We wanted to check in on you and Cheryl. See if you wanted any food, change of clothes or whatever." Josie offered.

"We're covered on the food, Cher bought us Pop's but we didn't get to eat it yet cause Keller came in here for my statement earlier." The Serpent saw the bag on her bedside table and could find an appetite for her favorite establishment. But then she went back to staring at the girl who hurt her and who she loves immensely.

"She hasn't left this place once." Sweets adds when he notices at Toni's staring.

"She has too. I've sent her out to go do stuff even if it's for me."

"That's what she has you thinking but every time you have a request she's been asking everyone to come by and drop it off or we go do it because she doesn't want to be more than 20 feet away from this room. She just hangs out far enough so you can't see her and lets you have your time to yourself." Josie rocked on her feet while listening to them talk.

"Oh… I don't know why she's been hanging around so much. She's got stuff to take care of too."

"Toni...she loves you. She fucked up and she's beating herself up over it but you were always a priority to her."

The Serpent Queen scoffed at that, "Josie I wish I could wholeheartedly believe that but I took a backseat in her life a little while ago so I don't understand." The singer knew Toni was extremely hurt but she wanted Toni to know that Cheryl was trying. But it wasn't her place to tell the pink haired girl how to feel because truth be told, if Sweet Pea had put her through that situation, she'd be mad as hell too.

"If you have it in you, just let her try." They all left it at that. Toni didn't need anything but she did ask for Josie to get Cheryl to actually go home to shower and if she wanted to come back, she could. It was like pulling teeth to get the redhead to leave but she did when Toni begged her to. Sweet Pea stayed to keep her company.

"You wanna talk about it?" He sat next to her in the bed.

"Heather and Cheryl kissed at the end of the football game on Friday night. It's why I was so upset." Sweet Pea winced at that information.

"And that's why you went to Sweetwater River?"

"Yeah. We'd been fighting or more so disagreeing on the whole Heather situation. She was spending so much time with her or the girls and when I thought we both had some free time to just be together, it's like she chose to be away from me. Then she blew me off during a date night that she suggested. So I told her to figure it out. We went weeks without talking and I didn't know if we were still dating. Hell I don't even know now. But then I watched them kiss and I saw Cheryl kiss her back for a second then I bolted. The rest you know." It killed her thinking about it, almost worse than those Ghoulies attacking her.

"Shit...that's... fucked up." Sweet Pea didn't know how to make his best friend feel better.

"That's why I'm so hesitant about her being here." Toni picked at the paper thin gown covering her battered body.

"She chased after you." The tall Serpent added.

"What?"

"When you bolted, she chased after you. I saw Josie and the girls follow her but you already zipped outta the parking lot. Next thing I know, they all got in Cheryl's car. I got a call from Josie asking if I'd have any idea where you might have gone. I wish I'd thought of the river right away." He pulled her into his side. They had such a deep love for each other. Without Sweet Pea and Fangs, Toni's not sure what would have happened to her. They let her crash on their floors or couches when her living arrangements didn't pan out very well. They protected her and bandaged her up every time her uncle just couldn't keep his cool.

"Sweets, it's not your fault. You know that right?" She could feel the guilt rolling off of him.

"I just wish I could have gotten to you sooner. I'm always supposed to have your back." That thought was eating him alive because the sight of Toni beaten and battered with that fucker on top of her was not something that has left him since.

"You can't think like that. My counselor has been pounding it into my head that it wasn't my fault either. It's those bastards who attacked me. It's their fault. It's their fucked up thinking that caused all of this. There isn't anything you, me, Cheryl, could have done to prevent the attack from happening. No matter how much we think we could." Her trauma counselor was really good. She called Toni out on her bullshit but yet was so understanding of her thought process.

"Damn, your counselor is one smart lady. Hot too." The future Serpent leader elbowed him hard in his side and laughed. Like actually laughed. She honestly didn't think she'd have it in her to laugh at anything for a long time. She could feel a darkness that seems to have loomed permanently over her. But here was her dumbass best friend cracking jokes only she and Fangs would think about laughing at.

"Thanks for being here. I...It's been real hard to wrap my head around everything. But having you here and visiting has helped me a lot." They weren't ones to be overly emotional but they just needed each other. Tears spilled out of Toni's eyes while Sweet Pea held her tight.

Xxx

It was early evening when Cheryl finally came back to the hospital. The redhead did feel refreshed from her time away but the only thing she could think about was Toni. But as Josie explained to her, Cheryl wouldn't be any good to Toni if the HBIC herself wasn't at her best. So it was okay to take care of herself so she could take care of her girlfriend.

Girlfriend?

God Cheryl hoped that Toni and her were still together. She knows she's royally fucked up their relationship in more ways than one but all Cheryl wanted was a chance at fixing it. Unbeknownst to Toni, the head cheerleader was speaking to a therapist also. The trauma of what happened to Toni, the role she felt she played in it happening, and their relationship in general really pulled Cheryl into a place she didn't know her mind would go to. She felt so much guilt that it was eating her alive. But her therapist told her that it wasn't anyone's fault but Toni's attackers. It was a hard pill to swallow but overall it was the truth.

Cheryl hovered by Toni's door not knowing what she's walking into. A pale fist knocked on the door lightly waiting for permission to enter.

"Come in."

The head Vixen slowly shuffled into the room with the duffle she brought for Toni. She figured the pink haired beauty might want to come out of that scratchy paper gown and change into something a little more comfortable.

"Hey." Cheryl greetly Toni timidly.

"Hi." Toni eyed the duffle bag that happened to be hers. "What's in the bag?"

"I-uh brought you some baggy clothes to wear so you wouldn't have to stay in that gown." She pulled out an old pair of her Vixen sweats that Toni always happened to steal from her and Toni's classic purple flannel. It was baggy and easy to help Toni slip it on.

"Thank you. Can you help me put that stuff on? It sure as hell beats wearing this piece of paper over my body." Cheryl could see Toni struggling with her presence and it hurt her every time she could see it in her eyes but she understood.

All the redhead could do was nod. She was nervous. This is the most she'd see of Toni in weeks. It's like their first time again. Cheryl took out the articles of clothing and walking over to the bed. Pulling the blanket down slowly to not trigger the Serpent in any way.

"Is this okay?" Toni could only nod. She was struggling to not push Cheryl away from showing her some skin but had to remember that even though this girl had hurt her, she trusted Cheryl with her body. "Just tell me if it becomes too much."

With precise movements the redhead slipped the sweats over the brace keeping Toni's hip and knee from moving too much as she recovered. Moving onto her purple flannel, slipping the Serpents arms through the sleeves without pressing into any bruises or cuts. Cheryl could feel how rigid Toni's muscles were and how much she avoided seeing her girlfriend's hands on her body as they moved. It made the Vixen's heart ache at the thought of those monsters striped that sense of safety and comfort away from the pink haired goddess.

After the redhead finished, she sat down next to Ton's bed. "Baby...you can look now. I'm done." Cheryl showed her girlfriend her hands so she could have a visual that she wasn't touching her anymore. The Serpent shifted back slowly to not cause any pain and exhaled a sigh of relief. "Thank you." It was the smallest Cheryl's ever heard her voice since they've met.

Toni's heart was still jackhammering against her chest. She didn't think she'd have such a strong reaction to Cheryl's hands on her but her mind sent her back to Sweetwater River. Flashes of Nick and those two other Ghoulies on top of her while she could barely squirm away from their hands. Then it jumped to when she saw that blonde hair, hazel eye, wannabe Vixen kiss her fiery redhead. The memories of that night was all her head was fixated on.

Once her breathing went back to normal, Toni looked at Cheryl knowing that they would have to talk about that night and them. But how did they start this conversation? The redhead could see the struggle in Toni's eyes and they both knew this was either sink or swim, fight or flight.

"I don't know if this is the right time to do this but we need to talk Toni." Cheryl sat back in her chair but faced Toni giving her undivided attention.

"Yeah, we should…" Tan, scraped, bruised hands wrung the corner of a purple flannel. The Serpent Queen would throw a glance at the Vixen every couple of seconds trying to muster up the courage to ask her one question. "Uh… um-are we-uh…" A timid pale hand rested on top of Toni to try to calm her down.

"It's okay TT. You can ask me anything."

"Are you still my girlfriend Cher? Or um...is Heather what you want? Or like your new girlfriend? Do even still love me? I-I just… Friday, I saw you two and…" Tears fell from chocolate eyes and it was like a kick to Cheryl's gut. The words alone tore her heart into pieces at Toni questioning their relationship and Heather and what she saw that night.

"I-I.. If you would still want me to be Toni, I still want to be yours. I-uhh in hindsight, I know things between us weren't good. I wasn't treating you right. I wish I would have pulled my head out of my ass sooner because our time apart was awful for me."

That made the pink haired girl scoff and like a flip of a switch the anger over their situation took over her emotions. "Really?" Toni found it hard to believe that their time apart was difficult for Cheryl. From where she watched, she had moved on without looking back.

The redhead knew that Toni was SO fucking pissed at her and had every right to be. "Yes, it was. Wherever I turned I was looking for you, even subconsciously I was reaching for you. You don't have to believe me." Toni could hear the sincerity in her voice.

"Do you want to be here?"

"What?" Cheryl was confused by the question.

"Do you actually want to be here or are you here because of some bullshit sense of obligation?"

"I want to be here Toni. I can't be anywhere else. Being here with you is exactly where I'm supposed to be."

"Cause if you want to go…" Toni trailed off.

"Stop. No. I'm not here because I feel like it's a job or an inconvenience to me. I'm here because being away from you right now scares the hell outta me. I'm terrified of you not being within reach because if you aren't, you might not ever come back."

"Okay...so why?" The Serpent Queen was at her wits end trying to understand how Cheryl could have just threw her off to the side once Heather came back into her life.

"Why did you push me away? Was I not understanding enough? I sound fucking pathetic but I just wanted some of your attention." Cheryl looked away because the guilt ate at her but she turned back around right away. She had a lot to prove to Toni and not facing the words she deserved was not the way to do it.

"You were perfect. It's cliche but it was me. It's like I wanted my cake and eat it too." Cheryl wasn't sure how much she wanted to divulge about the things Heather would try but honesty was the only way they were going to get through this mess she created. Toni cut her eyes right into Cheryl at the phrase.

Recognizing her poor choice of words, "No! No. I did NOT mean it like that. I would NEVER cheat on you with her or anyone. I wouldn't hurt you like that."

"No, you'd rather just kiss her in front of a whole fucking crowd and blow me off every chance you had." Toni clenched her hands trying not to let more hurtful words spewed out of her mouth but she couldn't help it. Cheryl's eyes widened and tears fell down her cheeks but quickly swept them away remembering that Toni's been holding onto those words for a while. "Fuck, sorry Cher. That was harsh."

Ignoring the comment, "I just meant that it finally felt like everything was aligning. I got that closure from my past relationship with Heather but I didn't lose my best friend in her and I had you. But I can't truthfully say that I 100% didn't know about how she felt. I could see it in the look in her eyes sometimes or when she'd hold onto me for a little too long. I'm just so sorry that I didn't make it as clear as I thought I did the first time. That was disrespectful of me towards you and our relationship."

"Then why did you never want to spend time with me?" The anger came as quickly as it went. The insecurity of no one wanting her or choosing to leave her for something better was eating at her usual confidence.

"I don't have a good explanation and I'm not making any excuses for my poor choices in the last couple of weeks with us. I was so wrapped up in my own world and I let you slip on by. It wasn't fair to you and very selfish of me. It's like I knew you'd be there and I took advantage of that without thinking of the consequences." It didn't feel good for Cheryl to say and it was awful for Toni to hear.

"At least you're honest about it." At this point Toni had slid her hands out from under Cheryl's because it didn't feel comforting having them touch. "But that hurts Cher. It cuts so deep because you can openly admit that you didn't even have to think twice about shoving me to the side when you had something better for you. What does that say about how you feel about me? What does that say about the love I think I deserve? That doesn't sound like love and I thought we were different. I've had enough people in my past do the same thing, God you know that."

It wasn't about making the redhead feel worse about their situation, it was about getting all these feelings off her chest. If they had a shot at surviving this, they couldn't sweep it under the rug and ignore their issues.

"I-I know and sorry is not enough. It is inexcusable. I just want to try to make it up to you but only if you'll let me. I don't expect you to forgive me overnight or any time soon. But I'm not going anywhere, not anymore." Cheryl start bouncing her leg up and down, it was her nervous habit and Toni noticed it.

"And what about Heather? I can't fight, argue, or even discuss her but I'm not going to force you into choosing me or her because I don't beg especially if someone doesn't actually want me." The words burned Toni's mouth as she spoke them but she wasn't going to be just an option to Cheryl anymore.

The redhead didn't even hesitate to say, "I pick you. I don't even have to think about it. It's not her, I said it the night of the game. I meant it then and I still mean it now. That kiss, I was shocked and I could barely register it happening. There was a slight kiss back on my end but I swear I threw her off me. I ran after you but then you couldn't bare to listen to me try to explain and you rode off."

"Do you blame me for not wanting to hear anything you had to say at that point?" Toni stared into dark eyes fishing for what? The Serpent didn't know. Maybe love? Maybe truth to her words?

"No, of course not. I broke your trust weeks before. You didn't owe me your time." Cheryl's eyes were glossed over by tears but love was definitely shining through.

"Why are you handling this conversation so well? Where's the fiery girl who would cut me down with her words first and listen second?"

Cheryl rubbed her forehead, "believe it or not, I've been seeing a therapist too."

"You have?" Pink hair flew as she whipped around to look at the head cheerleader.

"I go at the same time you go see your counselor." Toni was shocked but the sense of pride that washes over her at the confession.

"Woah. Is it helping?"

"Yeah, and he helped me realize that being defensive first doesn't fix anything, it tends to make things worse."

"He? That's even more surprising." Toni chuckled at her question. Cheryl doesn't always take well to men.

"Haha, yes. I know I'm more of the women persuasion but Dr. Shepard recommended him. He's a gruff guy but can see through my bullshit. Besides you and JJ, there's no one else that calls me out like he does."

"I need to meet this man and welcome him to the club." It's the first time since being in the hospital that the couple could joke like this. It was a nice change of pace from the heartache and sadness.

"What else have you realized?"

"That I royally fucked up being defensive when I was the one who came late to the dinner you made for us. By me reacting that way, I could only guess that it made you more uneasy about Heather and I didn't help that situation or take your feelings seriously when I should have."

"Being stood up that night already really sucked but it felt like you picked her and the girls over me that night. I didn't ever want to be jealous of Heather because I knew there was a history there. At the same time though, I had voiced my issues before and I believed you when you reassured me that night."

Cheryl flashbacked to that moment in her bedroom where Toni could barely tell her own girlfriend that she was insecure and Cheryl sat there lying through her teeth. She told her there was nothing to worry about and yet, she made her worry about it after all.

"I'm sorry that I pretty much lied to you about Heather." Cheryl took a chance at sitting on the edge of Toni's hospital bed. "Intentional or not, I betrayed your trust in me, by putting a friendship that clearly put us in jeopardy above our relationship which wasn't okay. I hate that I did that and I feel like I played a hand into you getting attacked that night no matter how much Dr. Karev tells me that's not how it works."

"Cher...it wasn't your fault." No matter how angry she was at Cheryl she would never and could never blame her for those Ghoulies attacking her. "It's taken me a lot of sessions with my own counselor for it to finally get through my thick skull but it's no ones fault but Nick and those two other fucking bozos. There's days where I still think that I could have done something different that night but it doesn't matter. They hurt me, you didn't."

"Not physically."

"You're right, you didn't hurt me physically. You hurt me emotionally but guess what?" The Serpent Queen reached with her mangled hands and wrapped them around the back of a pale neck to bring Cheryl's forehead to hers.

"What?" The redhead inhaled the sweet scent that was purely Toni, peaches and Victoria Secret Bombshell. It's the first time she's initiated contact with Cheryl to give her comfort. It's something the Vixen has missed immensely but didn't want to push her girlfriend in any way.

"You've been here since it's happened and making sure I'm taken care of every step of the way." A pink tongue peeked out between full lips to moisten them a bit. They've both revealed a lot during this conversation. It goes to show they both could have communicated better and more clear. "It's a lot to process and to work through and parts of me are going to be guarded but I love you Cheryl."

"I love you too T.T. so much. We'll do the damn thing to get through to the other side. Do you think you'll be able to forgive me?" Cheryl was elated by Toni's words but she was worried if her girlfriend could really forgive her for all her indiscretions.

"I can. Slowly but surely. Like I said, it's going to take a lot of work but I'd be stupid to not try to fix what's going on with us especially because I know that I love you. Plus sometimes we mess up but we're not a one and done thing Cher. We're endgame. Right?" The Serpent knew it was going to be hard as hell to fix their issues but she was willing to do the work for herself and Cheryl.

_iFlashback/i_

_The Serpent and the Vixen had been dating for the last 4 months and they were the ultimate power couple of Riverdale High. Their friends and people who didn't personally know them were rooting for them. It's not often that you see queer couples in Riverdale and seeing these two women from opposing sides so happy together just brought everyone else some hope into their love lives. _

_It was a typical morning sitting in the lounge with their friends. The cheer captain happily sat in her future Serpent Queen's lap while listening to Jughead go on and on about some article he's writing for the Blue and Gold. The redhead wasn't 100% listening because a lithe tan hand was drawing random patterns on her thigh right at the edge of her skirt. _

_Suddenly Toni's laugh cut through her haze and she looked at the smile that lit up her girl's face. That big belly laugh made the butterflies in Chery's chest erupt with happiness. It was more than just being happy, it was the pure joy she felt from anything Toni did. Sometimes it's the stare of adoration, a giggle, that smirk that meant she was up to something, a dazed look after a long kiss, a crinkle in her eyebrows when she was concentrating, or even the heat behind a powerful glare while being in Serpent mode. All those things were simply Toni and she knew it after their first date but she was…_

"_I'm so in love with you." It slipped out from full red painted lips before she could stop them. _

_Without missing a beat Toni responded back, "I'm insanely in love with you too." Even though the moment was hushed whispers it held so much truth. _

"_God, why can't I find what you guys have?" Veronica and Reggie had just broken up for the final time and it messed with the girls emotions. Watching Cheryl and Toni exchange "I love yous" made her yearn for that same type of love story. _

"_Oh V, you'll find your prince soon enough as long as it's not my Queen."_

"_I would never. You two are endgame." Veronica had a thing about fate and she knew it in her gut that the Northside and Southside princesses were a force to be reckoned with._

"_She's right babe, we're endgame no matter what life throws at us." Toni kissed her cheek sweetly._

_iEnd Flashback/i_

"Yes, we are. I meant it then and I mean it now." Cheryl and Toni were still forehead to forehead just taking each other in. Pale hands reached up carefully cradling Toni's face in her hands and gazing into dark brown eyes.

"Can I kiss you?" Toni's eyes trailed up into Cheryl's then down to her lips a couple times before giving a very small nod of approval. Slowly the redhead leaned her brushing her lip against the pink haired girls softly. Both of their breath hitched at the contact. It wasn't out of desperation like their last kiss in this hospital bed, it was one of understanding and broken pieces are mending back together.

"Is that all you've got?" The snarky comment was met with an amusing smirk and it reminded the redhead exactly why she fell in love with Toni in the first place. She was the one person who knew how to go toe to toe with her without batting an eyelash.

Not giving a verbal response she deepened their kiss to one full of tongue, teeth, and lips. Once air became a necessity they parted with chests rising and falling at a rapid pace.

"We still got it." Cheryl chuckled. "We sure do baby." Swinging her long legs around the redhead laid down next to Toni. She gently rested her head on the Serpents shoulder while they held hands resting on Toni's stomach. It would be the first time in a while that the couple would have a good night's sleep.

Xxx

A few weeks have gone by and the future Serpent Queen's been discharged from the hospital. Cheryl was adamant on having Toni go back to Thistlehouse with her so she could tend to her needs but the pink haired girl was weary about it.

"Are we sure that's a good idea Cher? We're just getting back into the groove of things, don't you think that me moving back in with you would be us moving too fast?" Toni twiddles her thumbs while the Vixen was running around packing up her belongings.

Cheryl stopped whatever she was packing and lifted her chin up to match her stare. "TT, I couldn't stand it if you stayed anywhere else. If you're uncomfortable with moving back to Thistlehouse I will stay wherever you are."

"Okay, okay. There's nowhere better for me to stay than Thistlehouse anyways. I just want to make sure we're gonna be okay."

"We'll be okay. We're both still seeing our counselors and we're taking it one step at a time." It was true. The couple hadn't stopped their sessions with either counselor and they sometimes went together to Cheryl's since her's was a licensed therapist. That meant they both could air out their feelings while having someone mediate them when moments become heated. It also reminded Toni that she was still hiding a secret from her girlfriend.

_iFlashback/i_

_A few days before discharge_

_Toni was sitting on the couch in Callie Torres' office. It was the Serpent's second session of the week and she couldn't stop fiddling with the edge of her hoodie. _

"_Toni, don't you think it's time to tell Cheryl?" Her counselor had been hounding her to share a tidbit of information with Cheryl and she had yet to bring it up to her girlfriend._

"_About?" She tried to play dumb._

"_Don't avoid it, you know what I'm talking about." Callie Torres didn't play and she was in no mood for Toni's bullshit today. But it was never done in an unkind way. _

"_Maybe she won't ever have to know." Toni could only hope but this wasn't something she could actually hide forever even though she wished to._

"_Realistically you know that's ridiculous."_

"_It's not! I can always be covered from the waist up or wear high-waisted pants for the rest of my life."_

"_Come on Toni, you both have admitted it to me that before you guys started to have trouble you two had a very active sex life." Callie wasn't wrong. The couple had this pull to each other that was undeniable but it had been months now since the last time they'd been intimate._

"_It's not like we're having sex anytime soon so why can't I just cross that bridge when I get there?" The pink haired girl was grasping at straws at this point. _

"_It's a huge trigger for you. Not mentioning it to Cheryl could cause you both a great amount of harm and it's not necessary. You can help yourself and Cheryl for when the time does come." Toni knew she was right and god damn, it fucking sucked that Callie was. _

_Swallowing the ball in her throat, "Okay, I'll talk to her." _

_iEnd of flashback/i_

The couple is back home at Thistlehouse. It's the first time in weeks that Toni's been in their bedroom and traces of her are still exactly where she left them. Cheryl was grabbing things she might need throughout the night while the Serpent was twisting the end of her shirt. She was in desperate need of a cleansing shower but she couldn't strip her shirt off herself or even her joggers. The pink haired girl was attempting to build up the courage to ask for her girlfriend's help and in the back of her mind she was still avoiding the topic her and Callie had broached a few days ago.

The Vixen came barreling into the room with a tray of various items like Toni's pain medications, bandages, water, and little snacks to eat. She barely noticed Toni and the anxiety coming off her in waves. The redhead was spouting off times and reminders but when she got no response from her other half she finally took a glance at her. Cheryl recognized the longing stare into the distance and realized Toni wasn't actually listening. Carefully sitting next to her girlfriend, she places her pale hand on top of Toni's healing ones hoping to not startle her.

The Serpent brought her gaze up and met dark brown eyes with hers. Toni could feel the tears instantly building up and knew there was no stopping it. Both of Cheryl's hands cupped her face and swiped away the tears before they fell. The redhead had no idea what caused the shift in her girl's mood but waited until she was ready to share.

"Sorry…" Toni sniffled.

"No need TT. Is there anything I can do?" Cheryl learned from their counseling sessions that telling Toni she was sorry only made her more upset.

"I-I uhh.. C-can.." The Serpent couldn't get her words out.

"Take your time baby."

Toni took a deep breath. "I would love to take a nice hot shower but…"

"But…?" Cheryl pushed lightly.

"My shirt and joggers…."

Cheryl connected the dots and realized that her girlfriend couldn't take off her own clothes to shower.

"Can I help you with that?" Toni barely nodded.

The heiress reached her hand out to help her girlfriend into their master en suite. Once inside, Cheryl got to work on getting the shower ready at the temperature her girlfriend preferred. Walking back over to Toni, she placed a soft kiss on a tan forehead then a small one on her lips. The act got her Serpent Queen to smile. Showing her girlfriend her hands Cheryl slowly started to scrunch up her Southside High shirt up. Toni barely lifted her arms while Cheryl slowly pulled it off of her. It left the Serpent beauty bare but not uncomfortable. She felt safe.

The redhead then kneeled down before Toni to show her that she wasn't intimidating while trying to undress her. Toni nodded as a sign of approval but started shaking like a leaf.

"Baby...I'm gonna grab around your waistband and start to pull your joggers down okay?"

"O-oh kay." The Serpent placed her hands on Cheryl's shoulders to keep herself up right.

As Cheryl pulled the garment down at an agonizing slow pace she kept her gaze on Toni's face. She could see the tears streaking down tan cheeks and eyes screwed up so tightly. Short nails were digging into her shoulders while she picked up each foot to slip the joggers off. Once she was done Cheryl stood up and kissed the tear tracks away.

"I-I h-have t-to show you s-something." Looking into the worried eyes of her girlfriend, Toni tried to draw strength from them.

"Okay babe. What do you need from me?" Cheryl had no idea what was going on but she could see how shaken up her girlfriend was.

"Just your hand." Toni held her hand out while the Vixen placed her pale one in a tan one. The Serpent peeled away the tape that was holding a piece of gauze that was covering her hip. She knew the scar there had healed already but kept it covered away from Cheryl's eyes while she was in the hospital. But now that they were back home she knew she couldn't keep it hidden forever.

Toni hadn't really looked at the scar either. She knew it was there but couldn't stomach actually staring at it. Nick had taken a lot of things from her that night and she couldn't fathom Cheryl being one of them. It felt like if she knew that scar was real then he had succeeded. Taking the pale hand in hers, she placed cold fingers on the scar and traced it for her. Toni's stomach lurched at those strong fingers tracing that hideous scar.

Cheryl couldn't make out exactly what she was touching but she could feel the hard raised skin on what she's always known to be the smoothest skin she's ever had her hands on. Toni couldn't control her sobbing at the touch and the redhead didn't know if she should pull her hand away or what.

"Toni…" Cheryl whispered.

"I-I I've been hiding this for as long as I could."

"Why? I've seen the other ones baby. Your scars don't scare me, you are still as beautiful as when we first met."

"I don't think you'll feel the same once you see that fucking thing." Toni murmured back.

"Can I take a look?"

"Uhhh…" Toni wanted to scream no but she kept hearing Callie in her head tell her how much it would help if Cheryl knew about this.

"I don't want to do anything that you aren't ready for baby." The redhead didn't want to trigger her girlfriend more than she already was.

"I need you to see it. Callie said that it'll be better for us if you do. It's a big trigger for me." The Serpent started to card her fingers through crimson locks to calm herself down too.

"I'm gonna take a look now. Okay?" Toni nodded stiffly.

Cheryl brought her line of sight down slowly because she didn't know what to expect either. She followed every scar, blemish, freckle until she reached Toni's hips. Thinking back on it, she realized that her girl never let her see this side since her attack and when she came close Toni got all squirmy and would freak out. Finally taking a look at what she saw knocked the breath out of her lungs. Three simple letters that was permanently scarred on Toni's hip. _iCMB./i_ The lines of her initials were clean and smooth. It looked like it was done with surgical precision.

"Oh Toni…." Cheryl breathed out.

"H-he was straddling my legs while the other two were pinning my arms down. Their hands were everywhere but I just laid there. I didn't want them to know how much I hated every fucking second of it." Toni shivered and tears started to spill over even faster down her face. The feeling of calloused hands all over her chest, her waist, her hips, anywhere felt disgusting and a burn she never wanted to feel. Cheryl gripped the back of tan thighs trying to center herself and not go find wherever Nick was and fucking kill him. She pressed her forehead onto Toni's toned stomach and let out a heavy sigh. The pink haired goddess tried to soothe her girlfriend by playing with her locks.

"I-I wasn't giving Nick the reaction he wanted so he tried getting under my skin. H-he said that he'd go after you n-next and get me to say your name while he had his way with me." Cheryl couldn't hold back the sob that was stuck in her throat. "He wanted to take you from me. You were the only thing I was holding onto when they were hurting me. By the time he started to carve into my skin I s-screamed and p-passed out right on the spot."

"I heard you…" The Serpent froze at that. "It was the only way w-we knew which direction to go when we were searching for y-you by the river."

Toni continued, "I didn't know what he was cutting into me until I finally could go to the bathroom on my own." Cheryl didn't know what to say but she knew wasn't repulsed by the scar. It hurt her more to think of how Nick tortured Toni and used her to do it.

"What about this scar triggers you?"

"I-its like he put his signature on me but used you to mark me forever. It makes me hate my body even more now. I just see all the scars he left for me to always have. I know some will fade with time but a lot of them won't, especially the surgical ones." Those words cut into Cheryl thinking that Toni could ever think of herself as ugly. Toni always had this confidence about her and Nick had stripped that from her.

Cheryl stood back up and cradled face in her hands, "Toni you are beautiful. Your scars even the one on your hip does not change that especially for me. I know it's going to take some time for you to believe that again but I will tell you every day as long as I'm breathing." The Serpent's eyes were glassy from all the tears but she could see the truth in her girlfriends eyes. She didn't quite believe it herself but she hoped someday she would again.

Cheryl stripped her clothes and walked the pair backyards into the walk-in shower. Toni cried in the shower and her girlfriend held her under the hot water until her breathing evened out. The redhead didn't feel the need to say anything besides show the Serpent that no matter what she would take care of her. Cheryl took her time shampooing, conditioning, and rinsing Toni's hair. Carefully and sensually the Vixen scrubbed, massaged, and rubbed soft scarred skin until she felt those muscles relax.

The pink haired beauty was in awe of the tenderness and just revelled in it. All she could do was kiss Cheryl where she could reach while she washed up herself. Soft "i love you"s were whispered gently while they basked in their bubble. Once they finished they tangled together in baggy t-shirts and underwear and drifted off to sleep with hopes of no nightmares.

Xxx

Toni had a leave of absence from school and since Cheryl refused to leave Thistlehouse with her girl still confined to the hospital and home, she wasn't going anywhere. Luckily the two star-studded students were brilliant enough to do their school work from home. Every day one of their friends would come by the house to drop of their assignments from all their classes after school was finished. It also helped their friends feel better seeing how both the girls were doing with their own two eyes.

So most mornings looked like this now with Cheryl was sitting in the main waiting room of the rehabilitation wing of Riverdale General while Toni finished up her daily physical therapy appointment. The redhead didn't want to crowd her in the PT office so she sat comfortably with a magazine in her lap. Her girlfriend was making great strides in recovery.

It wasn't going as fast as Toni was hoping but she was mostly back on her feet. Although, she was still with a walker or crutches or bed-ridden especially if she pushed herself too hard on certain days. Overall her range of motion was still pretty limited from all the casting and braces but the Serpent Queen didn't let anything stop her. It was super _/ihot/i_ for Cheryl to see her girl be so determined. Not to mention the lack of clothing she wore when she was doing her exercises. Toni hated that she'd break a sweat from doing such a small task but she didn't miss the longing look of lust from her girlfriend especially when she was doing her exercises at home.

Aside physical therapy, the case over Toni's attack was looming over them. As far as Sierra McCoy was concerned the case was open and shut. It helped that Tom Keller was backing the fierce attorney and helping her with any push back from the opposite end. The only thing that had the redhead worried was if Toni had to testify or not. Tom and Sierra both said the chances of that would be unlikely because their friends had witnessed what happened in the aftermath and all her injuries correlate with Toni's statement. But they both did warn the Serpent Queen that it's ultimately the judges decision and they'd know in a couple days, especially since all the DNA tests would be handed over to the courts.

Callie was preparing Toni and herself incase she did have to get up on the stand. It was a lot to process but they were preparing on how they could process listening to every detail of Toni's attack in front of an audience and how the Serpent would react to having to speak her truth and having to hear her friends talk about that night from their point of view. It wasn't an easy thing to process but it was also an excruciatingly healing one.

The redheaded Vixen was so lost in her thoughts about her Queen that she failed to notice that someone was watching her from afar hoping to approach her. Someone who she didn't want anything to do with or see. Her phone was also blowing up but the device happened to be sitting in her purse which was placed on the floor by her louboutins.

_/iMeanwhile at Riverdale High_

"_V! She isn't answering her phone at all!" Betty panicked._

"_Here let me try her!" Veronica pulled her phone out trying to dial their captain while waving Josie into the student lounge from the hallway. _

"_Why do y'all look like your hair's on fire?" Josie laughed lightly._

"_Heather approached me and V after morning practice and demanded to know where Cheryl was."_

"_What?!" Josie screeched. Cheryl had told the girls what transpired between Heather and herself the night of the game. They knew how torn Cheryl was with how she felt about her ex-girlfriend prior to the incident. One thing they were sure about was how Cheryl would never cheat on Toni. _

"_We told her that Cheryl was staying with Toni as she recovers. Ya know, gave her enough details but not enough to actually know where they are." Betty explained while biting her nails and pacing the length of the room. _

"_I know everyone's heard of what happened to Toni already but at least they've all been respectful of not gossiping about it."_

"_Well no one has the balls to gossip about the Queen Bee and the Serpent Queen. They are the deadliest duo I swear." Veronica darkly chuckled. The story broke out about Toni's attack once it was reported to the police station. Luckily, Alice was running the Riverdale Register these days so she kept the story about the facts and nothing else._

"_Shit!" The dark brunette slammed her phone back on the coffee table. _

"_Josie, give her a try please while I catch you up." _

_Veronica explained to the singer that Heather had grilled them pretty hard on why their redheaded Vixen hadn't been in school for weeks. They had no business in airing out Toni and Cheryl's business. So they were trying to keep Heather away from their favorite couple. _

"_She's not answering her phone V. What do we do? We can't have Heather around Cheryl or Toni." Josie yelped._

"_At this point the only thing we can do is head down to the hospital and tell Cheryl ourselves. It's only 9:30 so Toni is still at PT." The fellow Vixens left school grounds and peeled out of the parking lot in Josie's SUV hoping to prevent any unnecessary chaos./i_

bBack at Riverdale General/b

"Cheryl…." The Blossom heiress' ears perked at her name being called out but it definitely didn't come from the voice she's always seeking out. But unfortunately she knew whose voice it belonged to.

"Heather." Cheryl barely let the girl know she was acknowledged because she kept her gaze on the article she was reading prior to her arrival. The blonde didn't know how to approach her friend especially after the football game weeks ago.

"Uh…?" Heather didn't have the chance to say much more because the stampede of heels and sneakers were screeching against the linoleum and her three fellow Vixens were right behind Cheryl.

"Shit….Cheryl. We tried to beat her here, we're so sorry!" Betty breathed out while trying to catch her breath like the other two.

"It's alright ladies. Thank you for attempting to inform me of this situation. My phone is in my purse, which I apologize for not answering your calls or texts." As Cheryl snatched her phone out of her purse and scrolled through her missed notifications. "But please take a seat and join me." With widened eyes, Josie, Betty, and Veronica took a seat surrounding the redhead while Betty stayed standing behind her dear cousin.

Toni was finished with her PT session and she was slowly but surely trying to make her way down to the main waiting room. She stopped every once in a while because she got tired but she kept herself hidden around the corner when she heard her girlfriend's voice in such a commanding tone.

"What are you even doing here?" The head Vixen directed her question to Heather because she had no time to be playing games. Cheryl's arms were tightly across her chest while long pale legs crossed over the other. Her foot shook lightly in her candy apple red loubs. It was such a commanding stance that it had Heather nervous from where she stood.

"I haven't seen you at school for weeks so I went to Veronica and Betty. They weren't any help either but I figured you might be here." Heather glared at her two teammates but her eyes softened once they landed on the redhead. Cheryl gave her no indication that she appreciated the thought so she pressed a bit more. "I wanted to check in on you."

Toni couldn't be any more thankful for those girls who once took up all of her girlfriend's time and now became her friends too. Once upon a time she felt like an outsider from her girlfriend's inner circle. A shitty situation brought them together and she felt supported just as much as they supported Cheryl.

"Well don't."

"Also can't this conversation be between just the two of us?" Heather didn't like being ganged up on or having an audience.

"Whatever you have to say can be said in front of them. They are the reason I've gotten through this horrific experience." She gave each other them a small smile while giving Josie and Veronica's hand a tight squeeze. The Serpent's heart clenched at those words because she knew that everyone around her was also experiencing this with her.

Heather cleared her throat, "that's why I'm here. I just wanted to check in and see how you are doing."

"I'm fine. I have all that I need. So can you please just stop all of this?" The Vixen was exasperated by this conversation.

"Cher...I care about you so much. I had to see you were okay for myself." Blue eyes shone with love and Cheryl definitely didn't miss it and none of her counterparts did either. The Serpent wanted to go over to the blonde and knock her pretty little head off her shoulders.

"Stop."

"Why now Cher?! Because she got hurt? You don't need to push me away!" Everyone gasped. Toni wanted to come around and fucking deck this girl for even trying to make a move on Cheryl but blatantly disrespecting her again.

"ENOUGH!" The fiery redhead stood up so fast throwing Josie and Veronica's hands from her grasp. "Don't you EVER speak about Toni or you will regret it." Cheryl went toe to toe with Heather and there was a fire in dark brown orbs that Heather has never seen before.

"I thought you guys were done?" Heather didn't want to believe what was being said through the grapevine. The blonde was hoping she would be getting her second chance but that door looked like it was closing tighter and tighter.

"I was a complete idiot. I hoped to all deities that things were aligning, that I wouldn't have to choose between my girlfriend and my former best friend. I didn't give you a clear enough message about how I feel about her. I also didn't help the situation by giving you as much time as I did and not to her. Let me be clear Heather, Toni is _my everything_. When you left me in the dust, she picked up the pieces and made me the best version of myself." Toni wanted to show herself but in the shadows she soaked up the love she was feeling from the words that were being spilled from those perfect plump lips.

"It took an awful situation to pull my head out of my ass but I am no fool, so I won't ever make the same mistake twice. This better be the last time we EVER have this conversation. My heart belongs to Toni. There is no amount of care or affection from you that will take me from her. I've asked you to be respectful of my relationship and I am going to uphold my end of that even more so. This friendship is over. We will not speak unless it's school or Vixen related."

Heather's eyes were glazed over from tears and cheeks red from anger and embarrassment. But she knew there was no arguing with Cheryl. Heather had lost her chance ages ago and it was her time to bow out now.

Toni had enough of hiding after hearing that passionate speech. She pushed herself up slowly and made her way around the corner to present herself.

"You heard my girl Heather. Get your fucking ass out of here. I got it from here." Standing next to her girlfriend even with a walker, the Serpent Queen was still as intimidating. It didn't help that the girls were crowded around them like an army. "I may be injured but I'm not helpless. I will still kick your ass. Bye now." Cheryl's pale arm slid over the top of her shoulder and placed a sweet kiss on a tan cheek while Toni stared Heather down. The blonde knew she wasn't welcome so she swiftly walked out of the hospital looking like a kicked puppy with her tail between her legs.

The girls hugged the couple and bid them farewell and they'd come by later that day to have dinner with them. Toni and Cheryl left the hospital hand in hand, it wasn't until they got into the cherry red convertible that the pink haired girl uttered a word.

"Thank you for saying what you did to Heather." The Serpent leaned over and kissed a slender neck.

"Mmm. It almost feels a little too late, I should have given her that speech a long time ago." The head Vixen still beat herself up over her lack boundaries when it came to Heather but after today Toni definitely forgave her.

"I forgive you Cher and you should forgive yourself. You stood up for me and for us today. You could have let it slide and let her say her piece but you didn't." The Serpent had no intention of guilting her girlfriend forever over the Heather situation. She knew Cheryl learned her lesson and she only proved it to her today.

"Easier said than done. If I could scream it from the rooftops and mark you mine forever, I would." The redhead possessively put a hand on Toni's thigh during the rest of their drive back home.

Xxx

Days after the Heather run in at the hospital Toni got the dreaded call from Attorney McCoy about her case. Sierra had informed the Serpent that she would have the choice to testify but her friends and Cheryl would have to. The judge didn't want to put Toni through even more by making her restate her story by force but she apparently needed to hear the witnesses either way.

Toni has been tossing the idea around in her head ever since she got thee phone call. Cheryl, the ever supportive partner had reassured Toni that she did not have to go up there if she felt like it was too much. Callie had also given the same sentiment to her during their session. But the Queen was conflicted about it. She just wasn't sure how she would react to seeing her assailants up close and personal again. There was only so much Callie could do to prepare her for that moment.

The Serpent Queen wouldn't make that decision until the day she was told to show up at the courthouse. Cheryl and her friends had all insisted that they testify because the thought of those neanderthals walking around and possibly doing the same thing to another girl terrified them even more. It wasn't going to be easy for anyone to talk about but Sierra had done her best to prepare them for the witness stand.

They were dressed to the nine while they sat in the court house. The beginning proceedings had just wrapped up and Sierra was about to call up her first witness, Sweet Pea.

"Nathanial Montgomery to the stand." The judge called him forward while he took the oath to speak only the truth.

"Mr. Montgomery, how do you know Ms. Topaz?" Sierra started simple.

"Toni's one of my best friends. She's a sister to me."

"Is it true you both are affiliated with the Southside Serpents?"

"Yes. We grew up together at Sunnyside Trailer Park. Both our families have a long line of Serpents, so we joined too when we were 13." Toni sat next to Attorney McCoy as calm as she could be. Dark eyes never left Sweet Pea because looking anywhere else gave her a higher chance of making eye contact with the other three.

"Can you tell us what happened that awful night from your point of view?"

"Uhhh, yeah." Sweet Pea pulled at the cheap button up he was wearing. He felt a sudden rush of heat thinking about that night.

"Everyone in town was at the Riverdale High vs. Greendale football game. At the end of the game I was talking to some of my other buddies when I felt someone run into me. It was Toni. She looked really upset. I tried to ask her what was wrong but she took off running." Sweet Pea looked at Toni and gave her a small smile. "About 45 minutes later, I got a call from Josie."

"Josie who?"

"Josie McCoy, my girlfriend."

"Objection, your honor." The Ghoulies lawyer, Attorney Johnson from the state interrupted. "Isn't this a conflict of interest seeing as Attorney McCoy's daughter is a witness and a witness's significant other?"

"Is it Attorney McCoy?"

"No. I will be questioning Mr. Montgomery but my colleague will be questioning my daughter."

"Carry on Mr. Montgomery."

"Anyways, I got a call from Josie asking if I knew where Toni was. I didn't. I tried to call her and text her but got nothing. So me, Fangs, and Jughead looked around for a while but when we had no idea, we met up with the girls to try to find her together." Toni turned around mouthing "thank you" to the crew behind her. She had no idea how many people were out looking for her because if none of them had, there is a good chance she would have gotten off a lot worse than she did.

"Thank you Nathanial. That's all I have for now." Attorney Johnson didn't have anything to ask Sweet Pea just yet so they let him leave the stand.

"Next I'd like to call up Veronica Lodge up to the stand."

"Ms. Lodge, why were you out searching for Ms. Topaz?" Veronica as poised as ever was nervous about being up on the stand. She just wanted to do right by Toni and Cheryl.

"When the game ended Cheryl was really shook up. She'd asked me to hold onto her stuff then she took off running. I'd grabbed her things then alerted Josie and Betty that something was wrong. We'd run after Cheryl ourselves in an attempt to catch up with her." Cheryl gave Veronica a nod of encouragement. "From afar, we'd seen Cheryl and Toni talking but then Toni got on her motorcycle and took off. Cheryl was hysterical at that point and wanted Toni so we went to her convertible and started driving around town."

"How long did you drive around Riverdale for?"

"Almost an hour then we met up with the boys to regroup."

"Who are you referring to when you say "the boys"?" They were all lined up behind the women on Toni's side of the court. Anyone and everyone who loved Cheryl and Toni were in the court session.

"Sweet Pea, Fangs, Archie, Jughead, and Jason."

Veronica had answered a few more questions until she stepped down for Jason to be called up.

"What is your relationship with Antoinette, Mr. Blossom?" Jason barely batted an eyelash while being up on the stand. He looked like he was ready to command the courtroom himself in his black suit and tie. Cheryl sat in her spot between Betty and Josie with pride shining in her eyes at her twin.

"Toni is my sister's girlfriend. Cheryl and I are very close and so when they started dated Toni has become one of my close friends too." He had been worried out of his mind when he'd gotten the call.

"From my understanding, you were the one who went down to the police station."

"Yes. Once we figured out the most likely spot that Toni would have gone to, the rest of the group went to Sweetwater River while I sped off to the police station."

"Can you state for the court who you reported to?"

"I spoke with Tom Keller, the sheriff."

"After the police station, did you go to Sweetwater River yourself?"

"Yes. I trailed behind the Sheriff's car on his way there. I couldn't leave my sister on the search without me. But by the time we got there they had found Toni. All I saw was the guys run into the wood so I took after them too."

"Who were the young men and you running after?"

"They were three Ghoulies, which are the Serpents' rival gang in Greendale."

After Jason, Josie, Betty, Archie, Jughead and Fangs took their turn as the events of that night unfolded from all their perspectives. Sierra was doing a good job of shutting down Attorney Johnson from most of the questions he was asking. He was desperately trying to make it sound like Toni shouldn't have been out late by herself in the woods that night.

Attorney Johnson threw everyone for a loop when he'd called Cheryl up to the stand. Sierra was the one who was supposed to but apparently Attorney Johnson was trying to grasp at straws at this point.

"Ms. Blossom, why were running after Ms. Topaz at the end of the football game?" Toni gulped but gave her girlfriend a nod to answer the question.

"An incident at the end of the game caused her to leave in haste and I was attempting to speak with her before her departure."

"From what I've gathered, yourself and uhhh… a Ms. Heather Larson exchanged a kiss at that football game. Was that the cause of Ms. Topaz leaving the football stadium abruptly?"

"Objection your honor, why is this relevant?!" Sierra was fuming. Johnson had nothing so he was stooping low to try to get Cheryl to "slip" up on lies that didn't exist.

"Mr. Johnson, make your point or else I will send Ms. Blossom off the stand." The judge was not playing around because she had no remorse for the three Ghoulies trying to plead their case. He didn't actually have anything to say so he sat back down.

Nick kept trying to make eye contact with Toni but he wasn't getting anywhere. That upset him even more. He was called up next by Sierra which was a shock to Cheryl and Toni because that wasn't the plan.

"I'm going to keep this short. Were you seeking to attack Ms. Topaz that evening?"

"No."

"So what were you doing out?"

"Me and the guys were fucking around in the woods when we saw the fire from a distance. We were starting to get cold." He shrugged and slouched in his seat.

"Who did you see there once you approached the fire?"

"I saw a Serpent slut." Nick smirked while landing his eyes on Toni. She stiffened immediately and bowed her head to avoid eye contact then slumped in her chair. Cheryl was furious and recognized her girlfriend's posture change. The rest of the crowd was instantly riled up. The judge banged her gavel in an attempt to calm them down.

"Watch your language Mr. St. Clair." The judge did not tolerate vulgar language.

"Anyways, I saw Antoinette." Cheryl didn't like how he said her girl's name, like he was mocking it.

"Did you know her prior to that night?" Sierra pressed forward.

"Yes."

"How?"

"We went to Southside High together. I always had a thing for women who played hard to get but Toni just wouldn't let me have her. We have this electric connection that she keeps denying." Nick knew he was playing with fire. His idiotic friends starting laughing and that only upset Toni more. She reached over her shoulder hoping her girlfriend would see her distress which she did because a pale hand slipped right into hers.

"Did Ms. Topaz ever give you an indication that she had romantic feelings for you Mr. St. Clair?"

"No but she never did say no when I would slap that fine ass in the halls." Toni could feel herself caving in on herself the more Nick talked about her body in front of this audience. After more questions of Nick just showing his disgusting character, Sierra had shown the judge and the whole court the injuries Toni had gotten from the Ghoulies. Cheryl had told her as many reasons as she could think of why she loved Toni in her ear while those images flashed on by. Their friends had squirmed in their seats thinking of the pain that their dear friend endured that night. But god they were so thankful she was still with them.

"Mr. St. Clair, can you tell me what you see in this last slide?" Nick moved his gaze to the small screen set up flashing the image of the Serpent's scar on her hip.

"Yeah, I see three letters."

"Did you put those three letters on Ms. Topaz?"

He leaned over the banister staring at the pink haired girl like she was a piece of meat. "I just wanted to give her a reminder."

"Of what exactly?"

"That had she just given me what I wanted that night I wouldn't have had to mark her with the person she loves most." Toni had tears staining her cheeks at the way Nick spoke so openly about her biggest trigger. The redhead could hardly handle sitting there knowing how much her girl was struggling but she was hoping this would end soon. The Serpent's mind was starting to cave in on her. She could feel the steel blade tearing into her flesh. She could remember barely coming to on Cheryl's lap. She felt Nick's hand palming her breasts and cutting the seams of her clothes while those boys beat the shit out of her. Her body shook like a leaf.

"Antoinette Topaz." Sierra called her last witness. Toni had decided that morning that she would testify. She couldn't find it in her heart to have all her friends and girlfriend go up there while she sat pretty the whole time. The Serpent Queen also didn't want to give Nick and those bozos the satisfaction of the fear she felt at their presence. But now she was beginning to regret her choice. As slowly as possible, she walked the best she could on to the stand with her head held high.

"Who attacked you at Sweetwater River?"

"Nick St. Clair and those two sitting next to him."

"Can you share with the court what happened that night?" Sierra had told her that, that was the only question she was going to ask Toni. Attorney McCoy knew that after all of her witnesses having Toni go up on the stand would shut this case down once and for all.

"I went to the river to think. Cheryl and I had gotten into an argument over Heather and I needed space from her and everything. I had a fire going when I noticed that three people were heading my way. Once they came out of the shadows, I recognized Nick but not the other two. I tried leaving the fire but then they'd forced me to stay."

"How did they force you to stay Ms. Topaz?" Sierra was disgusted by Nick. She wanted to win this case so badly for Toni. God forbid this had been her daughter she would have gone after Nick herself.

"Nick had pulled out his knife while his two goons held me down. Eventually it escalated to them pinning me down to kicking, punching, slapping, and grabbing at any part of me. The more they attacked me the more my clothes were tattered." Toni squeezed her hands in her lap while she spoke. Her nails were starting to dig into her skin and she wouldn't be surprised if she drew blood.

"Were you exposed openly to them by this point?"

"Uhhh… y-yes. Nick had used his knife to speed up the process by cutting the seams of my flannel and jeans. But I was in so much pain that I could barely register it happening. At some point he wasn't happy about the lack of response I was giving him so her brought up Cheryl." The Vixen cringed thinking about how Nick used her as a weapon against her girlfriend. Veronica squeezed her hands that were on her lap.

"What did he do after?"

"He had unzipped his jeans and pulled himself o-out. I c-could feel him and he pressed h-himself against me. But before h-he could e-enter me, he didn't like that I said no so he used his knife on me." Toni had tears streaming down her face but she never broke eye contact with Sierra or her squad behind the attorney. The judge had reached over to give the pink haired girl a tissue. "H-he carved C-c-cheryl's initials into my hip. By then I passed o-out from the pain, the next thing I remember is my friends were covering my body then the hospital."

There wasn't a dry eye in the courthouse. It was difficult for everyone to hear what happened to their beloved Serpent Queen and dear friend. It shocked everyone that something like this could happen to someone they know. Toni was the most kind and strongest person they knew. But they were so grateful that Nick and the buffoons hadn't taken her from them.

"I'm so sorry that this happened to you Antoinette but thank you for sharing your story with us today. You are so incredibly brave and look around this room and see all the people who lov-" The judge was cut off.

"That bitch deserved it!" Nick hollered while pointing his finger at her. "All she is a nice piece of ass and-" The judge had enough and banged her gavel several times after the bailiff and multiple cops had to stop the Serpents from attacking the Ghoulies.

"Bailiff get those three out of this courtroom! I want them in solitary now!" Toni had her eyes downcasted at all the commotion. She couldn't stop the tears because her mind was on overdrive. Once the three men were hauled off and everything had calmed down the Serpent still couldn't get herself together. The judge seemed to notice and tried calling out to her and eventually she looked up. She peered into soft hazel eyes that showed concern and the most absolute care for her even though she only knew a part of her story. Toni was dismissed from the stand and stood next to Sierra.

The judge didn't look at anyone else but her when she announced, "Ms. Topaz, I find Nicolas St. Clair and his accomplices guilty and will do 25 years to life with no chance at parole for as long as I'm on this stand. People like them who degrade women and assume that our bodies are theirs are not welcome in society. That toxic masculinity is unacceptable. As I was saying, all these individuals behind you love you dearly and only care for your well-being. Thank you for being here today and while this is not something you or anyone can forget, I hope you can truly heal and feel safe knowing your attackers are locked away. Case dismissed."

Cheryl didn't bother walking around the railing but jumped it to embrace her girlfriend in her arms tightly. Toni sobbed into her arms finally feeling this nightmare starting to end. Sweet Pea came up behind them both and wrapped his arms around both women. His best friend was always going to struggle with this for probably the rest of her life but how strong she is. With the Blossom heiress in his best friend's corner, he's confident Toni will be okay.

Everyone took turns hugging the Serpent and the redhead while everyone started to file out. They were to have a gathering at Thistlehouse in a few days once things calmed down a bit for the couple.

The Serpent leader spoke up with her arm around Cheryl's waist, "thank you everyone for your support and sharing your part of this tragic story. You are all the reason that I'm not off worse in this situation. I'm so grateful and have so much love in my heart for all of you. Cher and I will be hosting y'all for a party for all of this ending and a celebration of our friendship."

They left the courthouse as a unit. The media had been less than gracious with the groups privacy during the trial. Unfortunately that meant they would get bombarded with questions no matter where they went. Tom Keller and Sierra had made a joint statement to the media hoping to shut them down and move onto the next story.

Toni's body still had so much healing to do, so did her heart and mind. The pink haired girl still had nightmares, flashbacks, and body image issues, all issues that she was working through with Callie. That wasn't even breaking the surface on her physical relationship with Cheryl that she felt like a disappointment in. Physical therapy was kicking her ass back into gear and it was still just as frustrating to not be able to walk without crutches or a walker just yet. But progress wasn't linear. Some days she took a few steps forwards and others she got knocked back a few more.

The pink haired goddess knew she had a long road ahead of herself but she was positive that she'd get there as long as she had Cheryl by her side. There were days Cheryl still harbored guilt over their situation especially when Toni got frustrated trying to slip a shirt on and couldn't move a certain way or when she couldn't do anything but hold her girlfriend through a night terror or when she was terrified of going even in the same direction towards Sweetwater River. But the Serpent never let her hold onto that guilt. It was a process and their were no shortcuts in getting through it.

Cheryl learned to back off when Toni needed her to and just let her be upset or fall when it would happen. It was easier said than done for the heiress but she'd just clench her fist and let it go. Gradually the redhead learned how to balance her time better with her inner circle and Toni. That really did miracle for their relationship and friendship overall.

Heather was no longer an issue in their relationship. Toni did not force her girlfriend to choose but Cheryl had done so anyways for herself and for Toni. Cheryl barely spoke to the blonde unless it was school or Vixen related and she kept to that. The blonde knew she'd lost her former best friend. Her unwillingness to let go of her feelings for the head Vixen had cost her everything. Their friendship was over and Cheryl had no hard feelings about it.

At the end of the day, relationships aren't meant to be easy. Toni and Cheryl were seniors in high school, barely 18, young, and still have so much growing to do still. But they knew that it was going to take commitment and effort to work through their growth together. Sometimes that would mean space and other times it meant sticking together but no matter what they'd do it together. Just like Veronica said, the Queen Bee and Serpent Queen were a force to be reckoned with but most importantly are _endgame_.


End file.
